After the Credits Roll
by DevilPup
Summary: My version of how the story continues after the credits roll. Smitchie, Naitlyn. All the ups and downs of dating a rockstar. Rating may change. 7/12: Complete. 7/15: Sequel up. 11/12: Sequel's sequel up. Translated into Spanish! Link in profile.
1. Chapter 1

-----If you'd prefer to read the story in Spanish, it's currently being translated by Ylaris. The link is in my profile.-----

Okay, I can't believe I wrote this, cause I don't usually write outside of my norm, but I'm like obessed with this movie, and I think I've read all of the fics on here already, so… I wrote my own.

It picks up a little while after the movie leaves off. Tis Smitchie & Naitlyn. Haven't decided on Jason yet. I hope its not too much like any of the other stories. Sorry if it is. /

Disclaimer: Bree does not own Camp Rock. Though, if she did, it would not have been able to appear on the Disney Channel. Hehe.

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After the Credits Roll

Chapter 1

So while I couldn't help thinking how _awesome_ it'd have if Shane kissed me at the end of my- I mean our song, I realized it wasn't the right time or place. I mean, in front of _all_ those people? Including my parents? And Brown might've had a problem with his 18 year old nephew kissing his 16 year old camper in front of all those reports and parents, too. Definitely would _not_ have been good press for Shane, Connect 3, _or_ Camp Rock.

My musings carried me to the canoe dock out by the lake. I wasn't sure, but I was really hoping Shane would meet me out here like he said. I felt like such a lovesick teenager, it wasn't funny. But when I heard foot steps coming from behind me, I knew it was him. I didn't turn around or say anything, so he surprised me by wrapping his arms around me from behind. The feeling of being in his arms, just relaxing against him and knowing he's there to keep me up, is officially the greatest feeling I have _ever_ experienced.

"We really need to talk." He whispered into my ear, through all my hair. "I'd love to just start over from scratch, but we _really_ do need to before we can." I nodded, knowing he was right. As I moved away from him without a word, he grabbed my wrist just before I was out of reach. "Where are you going, Mitch?"

Stopping and turning to face him, I smiled. "You promised me a canoe ride, right?" He smiled, too, lacing our fingers together as we walked to the canoes. Once we made into the canoe and Shane had pushed us off the dock, we sat in an awkward silence.

"You were amazing, tonight." He started. "I'm sorry you weren't allowed to sing in the competition."

Teasingly, I replied, "Well, I think one of the judges joining in kinda disqualified me anyway." I swear, _the great_ Shane Grey, _actually_ blushed.

"Well, I think if you'd sang for me earlier, all lot this wouldn't have happened." He replied equally teasing, but at the reminder of everything that happened, our light happy mood came crashing down.

"Yes, it would have." I sighed. "I mean- I still would have been lying to you, too. I mean- I didn't exactly _lie_ to _you_, I just didn't tell you the truth. Wait- That made no sense-"

"No, it does. You never told me your mom worked for Hot Tunes, and I never asked. I'd over heard it and didn't think it'd be a lie. That's a pretty big lie to keep up."

By now, I'd had tears welling up, well on their way to spilling down my face. "Shane-" I think I might have just sobbed, but I'm not really sure.

"Shh, Mitchie." He pulled me to him carefully, trying not to tip the boat. "I'm… I'm not mad anymore. I just need to know what else you lied about."

"Nothing-" I sat up quickly, nearly tipping the boat. "Everything I said to you, that was real. That was me. Even the part about keeping up an image."

"I guess you really did understand that better than anybody." He smiled, reaching out to wipe a tear off my cheek. "Stop crying, please?"

I smiled. "I'll try."

"Good. Cause I'd hate to kiss you and have you crying in the middle of it." He smirked at me as I tried to process his words.

My confusion _had_ to be written all over my face. "Wha-" Before I could finish my question, the hand that was still against my cheek slipped backwards until the fingers wrapped around to the back of my head, pulling me into _the best_ kiss of my life.

I was shocked at first, but instinct took over, and I was kissing him back instantly. As he pulled away, his eyes were bright in the moon light, smiling at me as I tried to catch my breath. "Wow." I whispered. "That was… different." I settled on _that_ particular word and wanted to slap myself. "Good different." I amended at his slightly put out face. "Clearly, it's left me a little senseless." I joked, hoping to put my awkward choice of words behind us.

"Good." He leaned in to kiss me again, but paused just shy of kissing me. "I like different." And then I got the _second best_ kiss of my life. Nothing will _ever_ compare to that first one.

As well pulled apart, a flashlight ran across our faces before excited voices on the dock not too far from us called out, "Mitchie! Shane! Is that you?"

Laughing to ourselves, I answered Caitlyn, "Yes, Caitlyn!"

"We'll be right there!" Shane called in. After a few attempts and the _wonderful_ suggestion from Nate on how to row, we finally made it back to the dock.

Shane got out first, then helped me. He didn't drop my hand though once we were both out of the boat. "So, why were you looking for us?" I noticed Caitlyn and Nate were standing _awfully_ close, although Jason was close to them as well. Perhaps it was just my mind.

"Interviews." Shane answered my question at the same time Nate did. "We need to steal Shane, sorry Mitch." Nate explained.

"Eh, take him." I said giving Shane a sideways glance. "I'm getting sick of Mr. Pop Star." Shane made the adorable face he did the day I called him a jerk out on the lake. I think that's one of my Shane faces. Of course his smile is pretty to-die-for ,too.

"Oh really?" He turned to face me, whirling me to face him, too. Leaning his forehead against mine, he asked smirking, "Is that so?" He was going to kiss me again, but Caitlyn interrupted.

"Uh, guys. There's a bunch of reporters milling about. Unless you want this on the cover of Pop Informer, I'd leave the lovey-dovey for the canoe."

Nate threw an arm around Caitlyn. "The lady has a point." I smiled seeing how Caitlyn was trying her best to breath and not start blushing.

"Yeah, I know." Shane pulled away from me. "Jason, why don't you escort Mitchie and Caitlyn, while Nate and I go have a nice little conversation."

"Sure, dude." Jason said smiling happily. He is _always_ happy. But that's what we love about him. "Ladies?" He bent his arms at the elbow for each of us to take an arm. We did and began skipping ahead of the other two boys, though I could still hear their conversation. The fact that I was _listening_ quite intently has _nothing_ to do with that.

"So what was that about?" I heard Nate ask.

Shane replied, "Well, if there _are_ reporters, we can't be linked to relationships if Jason is with them, too, now can we?" Oh, he is so smart, isn't he?

"Good thinking. So what are we talking about?" At this point, I'm assuming Shane whispered something to Nate, because I didn't hear anything until Nate exclaimed, "What?!"

We stopped skipping and turned back. "Dude, everything okay back there?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, fine. Amazing. I think hell just froze!" Nate walked over to me and gave me a _very_ big hug. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Nate, you feelin', alright?" I asked hugging him back.

"Okay, now that _that_ is done." Shane growled slightly, pulling me away from the other two, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "C'mere, Cait!" She obliged, as he put an arm around her waist. I looked over our shoulders to see Nate pouting a bit.

I whispered into Shane's ear, "Some one looks jealous."

He leaned down and replied, "I know." He cast a look back at Nate and winked, to which Nate just glared harder at Shane.

"What were you and Nate talking about?" I asked innocently, though I was _dying_ to know.

"I'll tell you later." He whispered kissing my hair. I smiled up at the gesture.

"Shane!" A voice off to the side yelled excitedly. "Where'd you go to?" The person, who happened to be the boys' manager pulled Shane away from me and Caitlyn. "What are you thinking?" he asked, taking in how he'd been walking with Caitlyn and me. "You want your new image to be shot to hell with these two?" Nate and Jason threw protective arms around us as Shane wrenched his arm away from his manager.

"They're our friends, Chris." Shane replied a little pissed.

"_I'm sure_." The disdain in his voice wasn't missed by either Caitlyn or myself. "Well, you've got interviews to do." He pulled the other two away from us, too. "Excuse us, ladies." His fake smile wasn't lost on us either.

As they were pulled away, with Shane now arguing with his manager, Nate called back to us. "Meet us later."

"Where?" Caitlyn called back, but Nate was out of hearing range. With a quick look at her watch, Caitlyn exclaimed, "What is later to him? 3 in the morning?" At my confused look, she explained, "It's already almost 11, and by the time they get down with all those interviews…" I sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night. "Oh, right. We were looking for _Shane_ for interviews. We were looking for _you_ because Brown wants to see us."

With that we headed back to Camp Rock Theatre to see Brown. When we got there, we saw Connect 3 sitting on the runway talking to a report who was obviously flirting with them. I felt sick, and Caitlyn grabbed my hand. One look at her face I knew she liked Nate. Her face was _quite_ similar to how I felt.

"Girls!" Brown exclaimed from next to us. It must have caught the guys' attention because they looked over and waved and/or nodded to us before going back to their interview. We waved back as Brown ushered us to sit down. "I spoke to one of the executives of Lava Records. They wanted to know why the lovely lady who Shane sang with didn't win."

"Cause Peggy was better?" I replied, fully believing it.

Caitlyn looked at me, disbelieving my statement. "But we were disqualified. How _could_ you have won?" She asked me.

"Well, record label execs don't know that, love." Brown explained. "However, when I did explain it to them, they were quite upset."

"I don't understand." I replied. Caitlyn didn't seem to either.

"Well, Mitchie, they seemed to have _loved_ your duet with Shane. They were hoping you'd win so you could record it."

"She still could-" Caitlyn interrupted before I could stop her.

"Well, the _winner_ of Final Jam was supposed to record the duet, not _the girl with the voice_ that's been driving him insane." Brown explained.

"Driving him insane, really?" I was smiling at what Brown said.

He laughed, ignoring my question. "If it is alright with Peggy and Connect 3, you'll record the song with Shane, and Peggy will record with Connect 3 as a whole, instead."

"Oh, wow, no. That's not fair." My selfless side was coming out. "Peggy totally deserved it. She's lived in Tess' shadow for so long. It's her time to shine. I'm good with the prize I got." I smiled brightly at the end part, glancing over at Shane, seeing him glancing over at me, too, before Nate elbowed him discretely.

"Well, let's let Peggy decided." Brown stood up. "Now, why don't you piss off that annoying man, Chris, and go hover by their interview." He nudged us toward the flirting interviewer whom neither of us liked very much.

We came up behind her, not wanting to distract her, just the guys. I held my finger to my lips to keep them quiet. They smiled at us, and Nate grabbed Jason before he could wave.

"_So,"_ miss flirty-interviewer-whom-we-don't-like drawled. "What about your love lives? Shane, any summer flings?" Though his eyes flickered to me, he replied to her with all honesty. "Nope. No summer flings." I felt my stomach flutter at his words, and grabbed Caitlyn's hand tightly.

"Were there many offers while you were here?" _She_ asked.

"No, the girls here were really great. They understood that we were all here for the music. No one threw themselves at me like crazy fan girls. Okay, well, after the initial, 'oh my god, it's Shane Gray!'. After that they were amazing." Shane answered with so much ease it scared me a little.

"What about the rest of Connect 3, Nate, Jason? Anything in the horizons for you two?"

"I don't know. We're, uh, taking it one day at a time. Maybe we'll find someone, but, we're aren't exactly out looking." I could feel Caitlyn deflate a little, but Shane's next words made her perk back up a little with the face he made. "Sometimes the right person is standing right in front of you, though, and you don't see it right away."

Oblivious, the interviewer giggled. "You're such a romantic, Shane."

"Well, if you'll excuse us, our friends are here." Nate said slipping off the stage and walking over to us.

"Finally!" Jason said jumping up as well. "Hey guys! They wouldn't let me say hi before!"

"It's alright, Jase." I smiled hugging his side as well as Caitlyn.

"Group hug!" Jason said loudly, pulling me and Caitlyn in tighter.

"So, Shane," we heard _her_ drawl. I stiffened in Jason's arm. "I was wondering-"

"Excuse me." He slipped past her as well. "Hey." He pulled me from Jason. "Relax." He whispered into my hair, calming me immensely. We watched her slink away, obviously put out.

"Shane! Nate! Jason!" Chris yelled as he spotted them. "Oh, you again." He sneered at Caitlyn and I. I smiled as Nate slipped an arm around Caitlyn's shoulder, shielding her like Shane was to me.

"Here they are!" Brown's voice cut off the impending lecture from Chris. He was with two other men in suits. "This is Mitchie Torres. She's the one that sang with Shane. Or rather the one Shane interrupted and sang an impromptu duet with." He teased Shane while we all laughed.

"It's nice to meet you." The one said as I shook both their hands.

"And this is Caitlyn Gellar, the one who mixed the music for the song." Brown introduced Caitlyn. The other man seemed quite interested in her.

"Oh! That was amazing." He cried.

"Girls, these are Mr. Bradley, one of the execs at Lava, and Milo Sanders, the boys producer." It was about now that I realized how much younger the one had been than the other.

"It's nice to me you." We said together, though a bit confused still.

"We're sure you must be tired from all the excitement, so we just wanted to introduce ourselves and to give you these," They handed us business cards. "Please call and make an appointment with my secretary." Mr. Bradley said. "We want to discuss your roles on the new Connect 3 album."

"What?!" Four eager voices cried out together, mine included. Jason was a bit… oblivious as usual.

Laughing at our outburst, Milo explained, "Well, Brown tells us, you, Miss Torres, are the reason Shane's written this new sound he's working on. That it was your influence and encouragement that helped him."

"It was!" Shane affirmed quickly, smiling at me. I looked down blushing.

"What does that have to do with me?" Caitlyn asked, still confused.

"We like your sound." Milo smiled at her. "We're offering you an internship to work on the new album as a junior producer."

"Oh! My god!" Caitlyn was speechless. "Thank you. Oh wow. Mitchie, did you hear that?"

"Of course, we need _both_ of you to record "This Is Me"." Mr. Bradley said.

"Seriously?" I couldn't believe they wanted me to record _my_ song. The one _I_ wrote. "What about Peggy?" I asked.

"Miss Dupree is going to record with them as well. We just need you both for more than recording."

I turned to Caitlyn. We started jumping up and down and screaming while the boys laughed at us. Once we calmed down we turned to the smiling men before us. "Thank you. So much." I said, much more business like.

"You are very welcome. We'll discuss the particulars when you come see us." With that they shook hands with everyone and left with a collective "Good Night."

As we watched them walk away, Shane turned to his manager. "So, Chris, is there something you'd like to say to Mitchie and Caitlyn?"

"My apologies. I hadn't realized you were the girls who preformed with Shane. I thought you were just… _groupies_." We could tell it was still fake, but we let it go.

"We'll see you in the morning, Chris." Nate said leading Caitlyn away, Jason, Shane and I following.

We were all wandering around aimlessly. Shane and I were holding hands, while Nate and Caitlyn were walking side by side. Jason was goofing off in front of us. Having heard our laughter, my mother came out of our cabin with my dad.

"Mitchie, is that you?" I paused, turning to face my parents.

"Hi." I grimaced slightly, knowing I was probably in trouble.

"Do you have any idea, what time it is, young lady?" My father asked.

"It was our fault, Mr. Torres." Nate stepped up to defend me. "Our producer and our boss wanted to talk to Mitchie and Caitlyn. We were bringing Mitchie back, but I guess we stopped paying attention because we were watching Jason goof off."

"Oh?" Mom asked in that typical parental I'm-going-to-test-your-story-till-you-break voice. "What about?"

"Well, our producer loved Caitlyn's sound, but they both loved Mitchie's voice." Shane stepped in. "They want her to help us write the rest of the songs on our new album, since she's been such an inspiration to me already."

"Uh huh." Dad didn't seem convinced until Caitlyn handed over one of the business cards. "Alright, your story checks out. Now why are you holding hands with my daughter?" He asked Shane, who looked absolutely _petrified_. I wanted to die at that moment.

"I, uh, um, uh…" Although, admittedly, it _was_ fun to watch Shane stutter like that.

"We, uhm," I wasn't much better though.

"Steve." Mom smacked him for me. I smiled gratefully at her.

"I'm watching you." Dad threatened. Jason and Nate tried to hide their laughter as Shane glared at them.

"Alright, well, why don't you two go to bed, and I'll be in a minute, promise."

"I suppose." Mom said dragging dad, who was making I'm-watching-you movements with his hand.

"I think that's our cue for you two to walk me back to my cabin." Caitlyn said pulling a still laughing Nate and Jason with her.

One they were gone, I faced Shane, though neither one of us spoke. He was just staring at me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

Surprisingly, he answered. "I still can't believe it was you all along."

"Shane-" I sighed.

He cut me off, quickly saying, "I know. I'm dropping it. I just, wow. It's hard to wrap my mind around."

"I, uhm," I stammered, "What- what are we?" I asked, my dad's question bringing forth thoughts I hadn't thought yet.

"I like you." He offered as an answer, but it wasn't really. "A lot. And I know that I want to be with you. But there is _a lot_ to talk about first that we didn't get to, and we don't have time to now."

"Oh. Well, I like you, too." I said, satisfied with the answer I got. "Will I see you tomorrow before we leave?"

"Of course!" He kissed me sweetly once before he pulled away, walking backwards. "Night, Mitchie."

"Night, Shane." I replied attempting to walk up the stairs and not loose sight of him.

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Hope you liked it. R&R please.


	2. Chapter 2

_Yay! I'm so glad you all liked the first chapter so much. Well, here is the second one. And you may notice that how I spell Gray keeps changing through out. Sorry. :-) Oh, and this one is short, but when the chapter stops, the chapter stops, sorry._

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_Chapter 2:_

_I could __not_ sleep that night. _At all_. Every time I had a dream, I'd wake up suddenly, gasping a bit. Thankfully, my parents were heavy sleepers and were knocked out. I found it kinda funny how they were on the sofa bed together. I guess Mom really missed Dad while we were away. I was quite grateful they were all the way across the room. All I needed was for my father to wake up and hear me moaning Shane's name or something.

Yes, my dreams were about Shane. So far, my favorite was us making out in our canoe. No, they weren't _that_ graphic. Please. But they were getting close. I finally gave up sleep and just thought. He was right, we had _a lot_ to discuss.

'No doubt, Connect 3 would be going on tour again soon, now that Shane's attitude was better. Yay, me. That was sarcastic, a bit, sorry. But then there would be so much distance between Shane and I. We'd almost never see each other. He'd have fan girls _all over him_, _all the time_. No one back home would believe I was dating _The Shane Grey_. I knew if the press really wanted to, they could turn this against Shane. I'm only 16, he's 18, soon to be 19. I won't be 17 until April. He turns 19 in two months.'

I sighed and curled up into a ball, wishing all of the problems away, and focusing on the good things. 'I'd be with Shane. Not _Shane Grey_ the Pop star, cause honestly, he's a jerk. But Shane Grey, the boy I fell in love with. He loves music as much as I do. And singing with him was so… _amazing_. I still can't believe I'm _the girl with the voice_. Seriously? Wow.

Woah! Wait a second, did I say the boy I fell in love with? Oh my god, I did. I think I'm in love with Shane.' And I so was. Yes, my moment of realization was a bit after the fact. But the thought haunted me until the sun came up and I saw my parents stirring.

Figuring it was safe to get up, I started moving around. Mom needed help with breakfast and then we'd be packing everything up. Everything but breakfast stuff already was. Mom was definitely surprised to find me awake already and fully dressed when she woke up.

"Hey, you. How are you, today?" She asked in that motherly way.

"I'm-" I paused to think about how I really was. "Perplexed." I finally decided as she reemerged from her bathroom where she'd gotten dressed.

"Why's that?" She asked. Looking around and realizing Dad was in the room, I dragged her outside, and we headed toward the kitchen. "So, why are you 'perplexed'?

"I think-" I paused again. "I think I'm in love with Shane." I rushed my words, and bit my lip, preparing for the worst.

"I know." She sighed. "And that's what scares us." She said wrapping her arm around me.

"Us? You mean Dad?" I was confused.

"We're worried you're falling harder than he his, and that he's going to go back to his rock star ways and leave you broken hearted, _or worse_."

I groaned. "Mom…" I sighed, knowing this would come up. "Did you know that he wears a purity ring?"

"Does he?" Mom seemed surprised.

"Yup. They all do. Though… I'm not sure if Jason really knows what it is." I giggled think of my clueless Jason.

"They all seem like sweet boys, but he's going to be very busy, and you have school, and he's older-" And we've reached point number two.

"I know he's older. But, you're always saying I'm so mature for my age." I sighed, trying to think of another way to oust that excuse. "It'd be like… If I was dating a senior." Okay, so he's probably graduated and I still have 2 years of high school.

"Fine. Just… be careful."

"I will, mom." I hugged her. "I promise."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. We were surprised to see a figure sitting on the steps into the kitchen. Shane was not known as a morning person, at all.

"Shane?" I asked running the rest of the way over to him. He seemed to be slightly a sleep still, but he woke up hearing his name.

"Mitch!" He stood up and hugged me, dropping a light kiss on to my lips before pulling back. "Morning, Mrs. Torres. I want to spend as much time as I can with Mitchie before camp is over, and I thought you could use some help in the kitchen." Shane offered.

"I could. Most of the staff is already gone. Caitlyn was coming over to help, too."

"Caitlyn?" A hopeful voice poked its head out of the door.

"Mornin', Nate." I smiled up at him. "What are you doin' here?"

"Shane really did think your mom could use help. We left Jason in bed though. Somehow, he'd just get in the way." Nate replied.

"Well, boys, I appreciate the help. Let's go." Mom ushered us all into the kitchen. I was trying to teach the guys how to scramble eggs when Caitlyn got there.

"Morning, all. Woah. Shane? Nate?" She was equally surprised to see them. I sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank god!" At her confused look, I answered, "Nate won't stop looking at the door to see if you're coming or not, and therefore not paying attention to how to scramble eggs."

"Oh." She blushed, not sure what to say, while Nate yelled at me, "Mitchie!" I just laughed, as Shane wrapped his arm around my back and started rubbing circles into it.

"That wasn't very nice." He whispered.

I whispered back, "But it worked." He just laughed.

Mom eventually told the boys to go wait in the mess hall as they weren't helping and were only distracting Caitlyn and me. They pouted but did as they were told. Once we were done, we went to find them. Jason had apparently woken up, and was sitting with them. Peggy and Ella were there too.

"Hey." I greeted, sitting next to Shane. Caitlyn sat between Nate and myself, a little flustered. For a moment, she seemed to go stock straight before she relaxed with a blush burning her cheeks. Shane grabbed my left hand in his and nodded to Nate. I smiled brightly before eating again.

"So, Peggy, are you excited to record with the guys?" I asked.

"I hate to sound like a crazed fan, but TOTALLY!" The guys laughed.

"You aren't that bad." Shane smiled at her.

She smiled shyly, but changed the subject. "What about you, Mitchie? Are you excited? Brown said you and Shane are recording your song…"

"Yeah. I am." I smiled brightly, knowing that I would at least see my boyfriend then. Then realization hit. I just referred to him as something that I don't know if he is. "Speaking of," Okay, no we weren't. "Shane and I have some things to talk about concerning that, so." I stood up, taking my finished breakfast with me. Shane obediently followed, saying good-bye to everyone.

I had walked out ahead of him, but he knew where were going and he let me walk ahead, both of us collecting our thoughts. I sat down on a canoe, followed only a minute later by Shane.

"So." He said sitting next to me.

"So." I was equally unsure as to what to say.

"Mitchie… I _want_ to be with you. More than anything in the world. But, it's going to be _hard_." I know all this. I've thought all this through.

"I know. I spent most of last night thinking about it."

He nodded. "That's why you look so tired." I nodded, looking away, hoping he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks. _That_ wasn't why I was awake most of the night. That was how I preoccupied myself. I heard him chuckle, but he let it go.

"Seriously, though. I understand. And I'm scared. And worried, and afraid, and-" He cut me off.

"Baby, you do know those are all the same, right?" He teased lightly. My heart fluttered at the pet name.

"I know. Did you mean what you said?" At his blank look I added, "About this _not_ being a summer fling?"

"Absolutely. Mitchie, you make me, _me_. I lost myself and the ability to complete myself and my music _a long time ago_. You're the only one with that ability now."

Wow. Way to make a girl feel special. "Shane." I admit, I 'awwww'd' him.

"Don't feel pressured to be with me, either. If you think we should just stay friends, given the circumstances, then, that's cool, ya know, if it's what you want."

"No. I don't want that!" I cried, afraid he was having second thoughts. "I want, I want us to be together. I'm just afraid one of us won't be able to handle it and we'll lose everything."

He took my hands and looked me sincerely in the eyes. "Mitchie, I _never_ wanna lose you again. It _hurt_ so _bad_ to think you betrayed me. I… I don't wanna say this, all _prematurely_ and all, and I promise I won't say it again for awhile, but I think, I think I love you." And that was the _greatest moment_ of my life.

"I think I love you, too." I whispered, blinking back tears. Shane sighed and kissed me desperately. But I pulled away quickly, before I lost my thought, "But you're right, it's a little _too soon_ to be saying those kinds of things."

He smiled. "One time deal. Promise."

"Good. How bout you seal that promise with a kiss?" I smiled at him.

He smiled back. "Gladly."

Eventually, we had to leave the lake, and got back just in time to see Caitlyn and Nate close the doors of mom's catering truck. I grimaced a little at first, but then when we saw Nate lean Caitlyn against the door and kiss her ever so sweetly, I could help but smile.

"Wow, he moves fast." I commented.

"Actually, Cait's first year, was out last. She was only 13, so he thought it would be weird to like her. But, as luck would have it, you and her became best friends, and when he saw her again, he liked her all over again." I awed a little at the story, and made my way over to where they were now making out. "Wow, a catering truck. Pretty romantic." I commented, Shane laughing as he came up behind me.

"Oh!" Caitlyn squeaked.

"Thanks for helping my mom, guys." I smiled at them before leaving them alone again. When we looked back again, they were kissing again.

"Some people." Shane commented in a fake disgusted tone. I giggled in response. Not something I'm known for, by the way.

"Mitchie, there you are. We need to get going soon. Sorry, Pop star." Mom smiled at Shane. She was accepting, that was more than Dad could say.

Speaking of, "Where's Dad?" I asked looking around.

"Oh, he headed home already, since I had Caitlyn, Nate, and Jason, helping me." Ah. So, boyfriend's friends, check plus on the Daddy Chart.

"Oh, sorry, we lost track of time. We were, uh, discussing, things." I replied,

"That's fine. Nate said Shane said you two had a long talk ahead of them." I sent Shane a look. He talked to Nate about us? That was too cute for me at the moment. I leaned over and kissed him. Mom cleared her throat.

"Sorry." I laughed.

"Well, I'm ready. I'll go wait in the truck." Mom said. "Don't be long." She called out after us. We heard a small squeaking, meaning Mom had just interrupted Caitlyn and Nate, too.

"I don't wanna say good-bye." I pouted.

"Then don't." He said softly. "Here, give me your phone."

I looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I… I don't have one."

"Okay, _that_ I am fixing. I need to be able to talk to you twenty four seven!" He joked, but I could tell he was serious. Instead he pulled out his own phone and started typing into it. "What's your house number?" I recited my number, address, and screen name for him.

We heard the horn, and realized we spent a lot of time on that. "Well, this is _I'll see you later_, kay?" Shane said, tilting my chin up to look me in the eyes. "And if either of us starts missing the other, too much, I'll just throw a hissy fit, and they'll let me come see you. They've seen that you calm me down, a lot." He smiled at me.

"Okay. We can do the heartfelt goodbye next to the truck. We can't do the kissing next to the truck." I remind him. He complied and kissed me until I was sure I couldn't have walked straight without him. After that I said good-bye to the others.

"We are totally coming to visit, Mitchie." Jason swore, and looked like he was going to cry. "I'm _so_ going to miss you." I had to laugh. That's how Jason was. Despite the fact that I'd only known him a less than 24 hours.

When I hugged Nate good-bye, I was shocked by what he whispered in my ear. "Thanks for bringing him back, Mitch. I didn't think he'd ever be able to love someone more than himself." I laughed as my eyes welled up.

"That explains why hell froze over, then?" He nodded laughing, too.

Caitlyn was the hardest to say good-bye to out of the 3. She'd became my best friend here. When the whole Tess-exposing-me-Shane-hating-me drama occurred, she was right there with me. She happened to go to a private school not too far from my town, so we were determined to keep in touch. We didn't say anything, just cried together.

When I hugged Shane again, he whispered 'I love you', again, and Nate's words came back to me. "You promised." I pout at him playfully. He kissed my pout away and then helped me into the van.

"I know. I couldn't help it. I might not see you for a while. I don't want you to forget, okay?"

"Believe me, I won't." We kissed one last time through the window and then mom pulled off.

I was sad watching them all get smaller and smaller in the mirror, but felt a great deal of anticipation for what was to come.

When I got home I was exhausted and went straight to bed. I woke up pretty late the next morning. Mom had obviously brought in the mail, and there was a package sitting on my dresser. Nervously, I opened it.

I wanted to cry. In my hands I held a brand new cell phone. And not just any phone, like the _top of the line_ cell phone. He had to have order it as soon as I pulled away and then sent rush delivery on it. I saw a note at the bottom of the box. It wasn't Shane's handwriting, though.

_Dear Mitchie_, it read. _I couldn't write this myself and get it to you, so thank you to the kind clerk at the phone store. I think I'm going to lose my mind if I don't talk to you soon, so go turn the phone on and text me, letting me know you got it, okay? And don't even think you are paying for this. This is my apology for not hearing you out when I should have, and for making you date someone who's going to be gone a lot. You have everything on this phone, so enjoy. Just don't get it taken away in school, kay, babe?_

_Love, your jerk._

_PS. Your parents know about it._

I smiled, knowingly. I didn't waste much time turning on the phone and laughing that his number was already programmed in. As well as Nate's, Jason's, and Caitlyn's, though her number was the only one with a real name.

Life seemed to be getting better by the day.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. R&R, please :D


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! I never update my stories this fast, but I'm like totally addicted to Camp Rock right now. I hope you enjoy this one. It's longer than the last. Hopefully, it's believable enough, though, honestly, fan fiction isn't supposed to be believable, now is it?

And our inboxes are so going to be flooded when the mailing system starts working again!

Oh, and text messages are going to be in NORMAL english. I hate reading stories where they _crucial_ messages are unreadable cause you don't understand txt/chat speak. It took me forever to realize what b/w was. I think it takes away from the story. But thats just me.

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Chapter 3

I managed to stay hidden for the next few days, not wanting to face reality. That Camp Rock was _over_ and I had to go back to my normal, boring life, where I wasn't being pursued by a hot famous _rock star_. Except, _I was_. But no one is going to believe me, so I'll simply pretend otherwise. God, I missed Shane. Okay, lovesick teenager moment over.

Unfortunately, I had to get up today and go to school. At least I had my meeting with Mr. Bradley today, so I'd get to see Caitlyn, too. A long bus ride brought me to school, waking me out of my day dreams that maybe Shane would be at the office when we got there. I groaned seeing my school. I _really _would rather be back at Camp Rock. Sighing, I filed off the bus hoping today would go by quickly. As I walked into school, I noticed everyone crowding around Rosie Maren and remembered why I let Tess get to me so bad. Because it didn't matter that my summer was twenty times _better_ or that she was probably lying. All that matter was that she was the 'it' girl of my school.

Feeling my pocket vibrate, I smiled. I opened the text I'd received, smiling at his words. _Good luck at school today. I'll talk to you after school, okay? We're going to be recording all morning. Love Shane_. As I began texting him back, my best friend Sierra showed up next to my open locker.

"Hey, Mitchie." She smiled brightly. "How was your summer? Oh! Your parents _finally_ got you a phone?" She had a way of talking and not realizing that she needs to stop.

"Not exactly." I grimaced a bit.

Continuing her questioning, she asked, "Oh, did you finally save up enough for your own?"

"Not exactly." _Honestly_, how do you explain that your rich, pop star boyfriend bought you a phone after dating for a day? It's bizarre. I know _I_ wouldn't believe it. How could I expect Sierra to?

"Well…?" She'd obviously run out of ideas. I said the first half-truth that came to mind.

"My friend… they're pretty rich, and they don't have many friends because of it. So, they bought me the phone so we could keep in touch." I hoped she didn't see through that. It wasn't a _complete_ lie.

"Oh. That doesn't seem like what a rich friend would do…" I cursed her being so smart.

"Usually. But it's not like I asked for it. They kinda demanded they get me one when I said I didn't have a phone." I smiled, thinking of Shane. "They're pretty needy." I paused before laughing, "And pushy."

"Wow, Camp Rock must have been pretty amazing then, huh?"

"You have no idea." I said looking away a bit.

I felt like I was being interviewed, but that was a bit of an extreme. She would _not_ stop asking questions though. "Were there any cute guys?" Maybe. "Oh, did you sing?" Definitely. "Oh, oh!" Her next question happened to be asked as Rosie walked by. "Did you meet Shane Grey?" Rosie stopped.

"You met Shane Grey?" She asked, back pedaling.

I stuttered a bit. Now, how do you _not lie_ about your boyfriend? Right, you can't. "Uhm, sorta. He was one of my instructors. He was a bit of a jerk though." I laughed to myself.

"Of course you get to meet him." Rosie seemed pretty upset. "You don't appreciate meeting a celebrity." She huffed away.

"Actually, I met quite a few." Shut up, self, I tried to will myself. "I met all of Connect 3, TJ Tyler's daughter. A few higher ups from Lava records." That stopped her.

"Really? Like oh my god, are you friends with any of them still?" It was no secret that Rosie wanted to be a singer. She just wasn't that great. I may not think myself very good, but I was _definitely_ better than Rosie.

"Not really." I shrugged. "Summer friendships." Rosie shrugged before walking away. I will never understand _their_ kind.

"You met all of Connect 3?" Sierra shrieked a bit quieter, not knowing how was listening. I opted to just come clean. I felt _so bad_ about lying to her. She _was_ my best friend after all.

"Sierra, if I told you something that would sound _completely_ unreal, would you believe me?" I asked, unsure.

"Absolutely." She said in all sincerity. This was why I loved Sierra. She was always there for me.

"I…" I paused, before pulling her closer and whispering in her ear. "I'm, sorta _dating_, Shane Grey. He's the one who got me the phone."

"What?!" She shrieked loudly this time. Very much like Nate did the night Shane told him he loved me.

"Yeah, I know. It sounds… so weird, right?" I was completely unsure of myself at that moment.

"No. No, I believe you." I could tell she didn't, but that's how Sierra was. She'd support you even if you swore there was a pink elephant that totally wasn't there. I sighed, knowing if my _best friend_ didn't believe me, _no one_ would. "Let's get to class." She said, ushering me to homeroom.

That was the longest day of school, _ever_. Sierra kept giving me weird looks, especially when I was texting during lunch. She didn't believe me that Shane was who I said he was. I sighed for like, the hundredth time that day before hearing my name shouted across the hallway.

"Mitchie!" I heard a familiar voice. I turned around to see Caitlyn standing at the doorway into my school.

"Caitlyn!" We ran toward each other, hugging profusely. "I've missed you!" I laughed happily.

"I know! Every day of each other and than nothin' for a week!" We laughed at our stupidity as Sierra closed my locker we'd been talking at and headed over. I could tell she was a little jealous of Caitlyn, but I didn't care.

"Hi. I'm Caitlyn. You must be Sierra, right?" Caitlyn guessed.

I could see Sierra smile a bit. "Yeah. You're Caitlyn? Mitchie's said a lot about you. When ever she brings up Camp Rock, you're in there somewhere." Caitlyn smiled at me.

"So, what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the train station?" I asked, suddenly thinking maybe I'd gotten it wrong.

"We _were_," Caitlyn drawled, "Until my incredibly cute boyfriend suggested I surprise you at school. Shane said you were having a rough day." I could see wheels turning in Sierra's head. Great. She thought Shane was _Caitlyn_'s boyfriend.

"Aw. That was really sweet of _Nate_." I felt the need to squash that thought immediately.

Caitlyn gave me a weird look. "Yes. Yes it was." She said in her own special way.

Thankfully, my cell phone started singing to me. Sierra looked a bit shocked to hear both _my voice_ and _Shane Grey_'s. He managed to get a copy our duet and sent it to me on the phone to use as my ring tone.

"No _way_. He sent that to you?" Caitlyn laughed. "I didn't think he was serious!"

I smiled brightly. "Yup."

Caitlyn pouted. "My boyfriend doesn't send me mp3's of him singing."

"Well, Nate also didn't jump up on stage and sing _with_ you." I said opening the message as quickly as possible.

"Nor do I inspire him _quite the way_ you do Shane." I could see Sierra rolling her eyes. Clearly, she thought this was something Caitlyn and I had thought of together.

"Come outside." I read out loud.

Caitlyn looked at me oddly. "What?" I showed her the text from Shane. "Oh. Okay." Equally bewildered, we headed outside, Sierra walking with us. "Okay, we're outside…"

"I don't know." I said, looking around. I got another message. This time, Sierra and Caitlyn crowded my phone to read it. "Turn around? What?" I turned around, completely confused. Until I saw Shane, standing there with phone in hand. "Shane!" I yelled excitedly, running toward him.

He caught me and spun me around as I heard an equally excited Caitlyn yell "Nate!" Jason was pouting between us two happy couples. Looking at Caitlyn, we mentally agreed.

"Jason!" We launched ourselves on him, leaving our boyfriends to pout. Sierra cautiously approached us. Shane seemed to become quite guarded very quickly.

"Wow, Mitch, you weren't lying." I laughed it off as Shane wrapped his arms around me from behind. Caitlyn snuggled into Nate's side once again, as well.

"Who are you?" Shane asked. I smacked his hand lightly for the tone he used. He was talking to her like Chris talked to Caitlyn and me.

I smiled at him, "This is my best friend since, _forever_, Sierra." I gestured toward the awestruck girl. "And this is my boyfriend Shane, and our friends Nate and Jason." It felt weird to be referring to the one of the most popular bands around as _my friends_, but they were. I hoped.

"Nice to meet you." Nate said tightly. Jason waved happily, not really caring.

"So," I asked, whirling around in Shane's arms. He smiled down at me. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

Smirking at me, he answered, "I told you I'd talk to you after school." He smiled for really when I glared at him. "You two have a meeting, and we thought we'd escort you."

"Yeah," Jason interjected, "We didn't want you going into the city by yourselves." Always sweet that one.

"Uh huh." Caitlyn said. " So, you were being over protective?" We laughed as all three guys blushed a little.

Shane was the first to change the subject. "So, meeting?" he began leading us toward the limo waiting out front.

As we walked away from Sierra, I called back to her, "I'll try to call you tonight!" Though we both knew I probably wouldn't.

Mom was already in the limo waiting for us when we got there. "Ya know, I think I could get used to you dating the Pop Star." Shane just laughed. I smiled happily at how comfortable my mother was with Shane. _Dad_ on the other hand, not so much. He kept grumbling all the time about boys and silly pop stars, and stupid boys. It was kind of adorable.

"Here we are." Nate said anxiously. Caitlyn and I were dreading this. As excited as we _were_, is how _terrified_ we were then. As we walked into Lava Records, she and I grabbed hands. We made a weird looking off-to-see-the-wizard type of group as we walked. Shane and I were holding hands, as were Nate and Caitlyn. The receptionist smiled at us as Caitlyn and I dropped each others hands.

Mr. Bradley's office was _huge_. He had a desk, a long glass table, and a small bar in the room amongst the many awards and band posters filtering the room. I smiled as I saw a younger looking Shane, Nate, and Jason on a poster on the far left corner.

"Welcome, welcome!" He said ushering us from behind. He was running a bit late. Milo and a very unhappy Chris were with him as well. "Now, you must be Mitchie's mother." He addressed Mom who shook his hand and introduced herself as Connie.

"Let's have a seat, shall we?" Everyone took seats at the long table, Caitlyn and I still attached to one another, as well as our boyfriends. Mom sat across from us with Jason, Milo, and Chris. "Now, let's start with Miss Gellar. Here," he pulled out a contract, "Is your internship contract. We understand you are in school, so you'll be expected to be here about this time, every day unless there is nothing to be done." At this, Caitlyn's face fell.

"Oh, I, I go to a boarding school about an hour away from here. I don't start until next week, so I was able to come with Mitchie." She looked heart broken.

"Well," Mom interjected, "Can you transfer schools?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "My parents move around a lot. They can't stay in one place, that's why I go to boarding school. I'd have to try to find another boarding school closer." Mom looked at me with a small smile and question in here eyes. I begged her with my own eyes.

"Well, if it was alright with your parents, you could come to stay with us. We live pretty close, don't we, Mitchie?"

"Oh my god. Seriously?" Caitlyn seemed so excited. We squealed together. Nate and Shane laughed at us.

"Well, providing you can work all that out, our offer still stands." Milo said. "I haven't seen anyone with your talent in a long time. Most kids you age don't have this kind of dedication. That's why we love pulling kids from Camp Rock. They are dedicated."

"So dedicated!" Caitlyn replied happily.

"Well, that's settled for now. Miss Torres," Mr. Bradley moved on to me. "We'd like you to record your duet with Shane, put you would have to give the label rights to use your lyrics." I nodded, still trying to understand this. "And we'd also like you to help Shane and the others write the rest of the songs for the new album. You and Shane seem to have created the sound together, and we feel your input would be beneficial to it."

"The fact that he's not screaming at us is a bonus." Milo interjected, while Shane looked away from the table. I never realized that the bad boy image the press had given him was a really for a reason. He really hated his cookie-cutter-pop-star-stuff.

Chuckling, but moving on, Mr. Bradley continued. "Mrs. Torres, your daughter has a lovely voice. If the single gets a positive response for Mitchie, we'd like to record a demo for her. I believe we can market not only that amazing voice, but Shane Grey's girlfriend very well." I felt Shane clutch my hand tighter. "But that's the least of our worries right now. We have a contingency contract drawn up with all the if's in its that I'll allow you to look over before you sign anything." Mom nodded looking a bit lost as he handed her two contracts, letting her look over Caitlyn's as well.

While we were looking over the contracts with Shane and Nate, we heard the 3 Lava Records employees arguing in a small glass room, obviously for this time of thing. Yet the glass did nothing to stop us from hearing them argue.

"They're going to ruin those boys' careers!" We heard Chris yell. "We didn't _sign_ them for their _originality_. We signed them for their voices and abilities."

"Everyone changes up their sound." Milo argued, much more calmly. "We've already got a good market with the Connect 3 fan base. A new sound will not only draw in their fans, but also even more people. I'm not seeing how this is going to _ruin_ their career."

"Milo is right, Chris." Mr. Bradley said. "However, if you have a major problem with the new sound, we'll reassign you." Chris' face seemed to become blank.

"No, uh, I'll, I'll try out this _new sound_ of theirs." Mr. Bradley seemed really nice, but he really knew this business. That scared me a bit.

My mind was brought back into the room I was in when Mom asked a question. Shane explained that one of the stipulations was I could only sign with Lava if I did the duet, regardless of whether or not they wanted to sign me. If I didn't sign with Lava, I couldn't sign with anyone else for 3 years.

"Is that a chance you're willing to take, sweetie?" Mom asked concerned.

"Yeah. I think. I mean, I still have 2 years of school left, and then college, maybe, so." I didn't really plan on getting signed in the next three years anyway.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about it." Nate offered. "Bradley _loves_ your voice. He can be a cut throat when he needs to be, but he knows his music." I felt better hearing those words come from Nate than if they'd come from Shane. Sometimes I doubted him believing he had a jaded opinion.

"Alright, I guess it's settled." At that moment, Mr. Bradley and the others made their way back.

"Are we all set in here?" He asked.

Mom spoke for us. "As long as we can work out Caitlyn's situation, I see nothing wrong with either contract."

"Perfect. Here we go." He handed Mom and I pens and began indicating where we needed to sign. Caitlyn signed hers, but would have to have her parents sign it, or wait until she moved in with us, and Mom could sign it for her.

When we walked out a little while later, Caitlyn and I where particularly dazed. Unfortunately, we had to get home right away because I had homework to do. Shane laughed, commenting on being happy he had gotten his GED when the band first started touring. Jerk.

Mom headed inside first, leaving us to say good night. Caitlyn was going to spend the night, and then Mom would take her back in the morning. We said goodnight to Jason, and then said goodnight to our boyfriends, contently kissing them goodbye.

"Caitlyn," Mom said as we were coming inside. "Why don't you go call your parents for me, and we can start working this out? If you're going to be transferring to Mitchie's school, we can't waste too much time." Always thinking like a mom. I love my mom.

"Sure thing, Connie." Caitlyn said, heading into the kitchen to get the phone. I laughed as I received a text, not even 5 minutes after the boys left.

_I miss you_ _-insert sad face-_. I smiled. He was so needy sometimes.

Forty minutes later, we received our verdict from Mrs. Gellar. She said she'd be more than happy to let Caitlyn come stay with us. Apparently Caitlyn has been going on and on about Mom and myself since the whole kitchen-duty fiasco during Camp. I was so excited. Next week, Caitlyn would be coming to school with me. I'd have 2 friends and someone who believed me and understood what I was going through. And who happened to be my best friend from Camp!

Yup. Life was definitely looking up.

* * *

I hope I'm not disappointing. And to the death threat, don't worry, I plan on living. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again for all the reviews and such. Seriously, I don't normally update this fast. I've just been really bored. So this was a bit hard to write. I tried to fill it up as much as possible without being _too_ filler-y.

Oh, and to address the whole Kate being spelled Cait thing, I think Caitlyn is the type of person to make herself stand out in small, simple ways. Like spelling Cait the way her name is Cait-lyn. Not that there is anything wrong with spelling it Cate or Kate, though. I just wanted to spell it Cait.

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Chapter 4

Caitlyn and I stayed up _way_ too late that night. I overslept a bit and made it to school just in time to make it to homeroom before the bell rang. I sighed in relief as Sierra looked at me confused. I was _never_ late to school.

"Where were you?" She questioned.

Laying my head on my desk, still pretty tired, I answered, "Cait and I were up pretty late talking. She's moving in with me because of this internship at Lava. Then we were talking about me recording with Shane, and how her and Milo are going to be mixing the music for it. And, just, everything. I can't wait for next week!" Sierra made a tight smile and commented on how nice that was. We were silent the rest of class.

I was _very _tired and didn't realize a good majority of my class had been listening to me. They had all seen or heard about Shane, Nate, and Jason showing up yesterday. This was icing on the cake. It wasn't until lunch that I finally realized something was up. _Rosie_ sat at my lunch table. The table I sit _alone_ at with _Sierra_.

"Hey, Mitchie. Sierra." She smiled at us. We exchanged confused looks.

"Hey, Rosie." I said before I became distracted by my phone. He really was needy.

"Oh, who are you texting?" She asked _innocently_.

I wasn't really listening though. "Hmm?"

Her smile became tight, not used to being ignored. "I asked who were you texting."

"Oh, my friend, Caitlyn." I lied easily. I was _not_ that stupid. I was suddenly quite thankful for Tess. Now I was able to stand up to Rosie and not get caught up in drama that could cost me even _more_ than the Tess drama almost did.

"Oh." She didn't sound overly pleased with my answer. "She was the one that showed up yesterday?"

"Yeah," I replied, "She's transferring here next week."

"Oh." It was silent for a moment. "What about your other friends that showed up?" I laughed in my head. Ha! I've caught on to you Rosie.

"Who?" I asked, turning to face Sierra. Sierra stifled a laugh but shrugged in confusion.

"Oh, you know, those _cute boys_ you were with. Caitlyn's boyfriend it looked like…" My boyfriend, too, I wanted to scream at her. But I checked myself. I gave away nothing.

"Oh! Right. What about them?"

I could see she was getting fed up. "Who were they?" She tried to come off innocent, but her frustration was coming through.

"My friends." I smiled brightly at her.

Finally at her end, she lost all pretenses of pleasantness. "Look, you and I both know what I want to know. Was that _really_ Connect 3?" She demanded.

"Maybe." I smiled and ignored her, answering Shane's text.

"You know, Shane's _awfully_ cute." I felt myself tense and I knew she saw it. "I had a backstage pass to their concert for this summer." She was pushing the right button's and she knew it. "I couldn't wait to see them."

"Yeah, well, that's too bad you didn't get to." I replied, slowly becoming more and more angry.

She smirked happily. "Who would've thought. _Mitchie_ and _Shane Grey_."

"He _is_ a person, you know." I hit my breaking point. "Just because he's famous doesn't make him some god that should be sucked up to at every chance."

"Oh, that's rich." She stood up. "I guess, you see him _for the real him_, right, Mitchie?"

"Yeah, I do." I replied, remaining seated. She laughed and walked off. Something about her did not sit well with me. I turned to Sierra, who had been sitting there quietly for a while. "I'm gonna go…" I gestured to my phone, indicating I was gonna go call Shane. She just nodded wordlessly as I left.

After the 4th ring, an out of breath Shane answered the phone, "Hello? Mitchie? Baby, is that you?" I was a little worried he was out of breath.

"… Yeah." I answered slowly.

I heard him sigh in relief. "Thank god. I've missed your voice."

I laughed at him, "You are _very_ clingy, Mister." He chuckled an I-know. "Anyway, why are you so out of breath?"

"Jason thought it'd be funny to hide my phone." He clearly didn't find it funny. "So, what's up? Aren't you in school?"

Sighing, I replied, "Yeah. I just… got into a _huge_ argument with the Tess of my high school."

When I didn't continue, he question me, "About?"

"You." I whispered nervously. "She… I guess everyone knows Cait and I are friends with you and all… so she decided to sit with me at lunch… and… was asking all these questions and I won't give her a straight answer, but then she…" My voice faded off, embarrassed to be admitting this to my boyfriend, "She started talking about you… and I let it get to me, so I kinda told her off… and now… I don't know."

"Mitch…" He sighed. "There are _always_ going to be people like her while we're together. And I don't plan on us not being together anytime soon, so I'd say its safe to say they'll be around _for awhile_."

"I know." I sighed too. "I just wanted to tell you. I don't know what her devious mind can do."

"Well," He said oddly happy. "We'll see when it happens. But on the bright side, Nate is extremely happy that Cait is moving in with you."

"Why?" I was a bit perplexed.

"Because now when I throw my 'I want my Mitchie' hissy fit to come see you, he'll get to see her, too." I laughed happily. "We're both happy though, cause now you two have each other to deal with the suckiness of dating a Rock Star."

"Okay, Pop star, suckiness? So not a word." I teased him.

"I prefer Rock star, thank you." He replied slightly offended. The bell rang then, causing me to have to cut my phone call short.

"Well, the bell just rang, so…" I faded off.

"I'll call you later." He promised.

"Bye, Shaney." I said in a teasing tone.

"Bye, _Michaela_." I gasped as he quickly hung up the phone. I didn't know he knew my _full name_. The students spilling into the halls woke me out of my daydream, forcing me to go to the rest of my classes.

The day passed without too much more drama. Until someone asked me if I was _really_ going to record with Shane Grey. I said we had met at Camp Rock, and I helped him a write a few songs. That was what we were talking about. I didn't want anyone to know until they saw my name next to Shane's. I sighed as the last bell rang, thankful it was over.

The week finally ended, and we were going to pick Caitlyn's stuff up from the school. Her parents had faxed over all the paper work and everything was _almost_ legal. The paper work was being processed, but Caitlyn was starting my school anyway.

Caitlyn and I had been chatting happily as we carried boxes of her stuff up to my room. I was not expecting to find two hot, sweaty, _shirtless_ pop stars in my bedroom, putting together a bed frame. Jason came bounding up the stairs with more boxes along with Dad.

"Hey, guys." Jason said setting down his boxes and taking ours and moving them. That broke us out of our daydream world, and alerting Shane and Nate to our presence. They quickly pulled their shirts on.

"Hey." Shane kissed my cheek, "Your mom was supposed to call when you were close." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He was still treading water with Dad at this point.

"Oh. Sorry. What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

Surprisingly, Dad answered. "They pulled up a few minutes after you left asking what needed to be done to make this room livable for 2. They've been working for a few hours already." Dad seemed pretty impressed with them. I was so happy. I smiled brightly at Shane. I was so happy he was only 20 minutes away _recording_. I was afraid of what would happen when the album was done and they would go on tour. But Mom brought me out of my thoughts.

"A little help here?" She laughed carrying more boxes than she should have. The boys rushed to grab the boxes.

"Mrs. Torres!" They cried, seeing how heavy they were.

"What have I told you boys? Call me Connie." They all mumbled sorry's and moved on.

"Why don't you guys take a break?" Dad offered. Shane and Nate looked back at the bed frame. "I'll finish it." They seemed apprehensive, but Caitlyn and I dragged them down stairs. Later, when we went back up we'd noticed they had put a second dresser in my room, as well as a new desk.

We spent the rest of the day moving Caitlyn in and hanging out with the guys. They informed us Peggy was going to be flying in soon to work on the song. We insisted she stay with us instead of a hotel, but they didn't think 3 people could stay in my room and survive.

Later that night, Dad was showing Jason the birdhouse he was working on in the garage, while Nate and Caitlyn were watching a movie. Shane and I opted to walk around my backyard.

"What's wrong?" He stopped walking, pulling me in front of him. "Talk to me."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't lie to him. "I just keep thinking how _great_ it is right now. But…" I looked away from him. "That'll all going to change once the album is done and you guys start touring." I saw him smiling out of the corner of my eye and grew defensive. "What?" A demanded, thinking he was laughing at me.

"Well, I _wanted_ to surprise you… but," He paused. "We'll most likely be doing a summer tour. When, you know, you aren't in school…" My smile grew catching what he was saying.

Then it fell. "Camp Rock." I said disappointed. He sighed. Obviously, he knew something I didn't. "I was talking to Uncle Brown about the camp. The boys want to go back and teach _so bad_. Uncle Brown, though, he, uh, doesn't know if there _will be_ a Camp Rock next summer."

"What?!" I shouted. "Why not?"

"Not enough people. It's getting more and more expensive to run the camp, and the only people who can afford it are the Tess Tylers or the ones like Caitlyn, whose parents can barely keep their daughter in the life style they're used to. There are going to be even less people able to go this year. It's a never ending cycle! The price goes up so not as many people can go so the price has to go up _again_ to cover the missing people." Shane seemed really upset over this. So was I.

"Are you sure about this?" I questioned.

"This will probably be the last year, _if_ they even have it." He sighed again. "And, if they do, and you and Cait would rather go to Camp Rock, then that's fine. You can come on tour with me next summer." I didn't know _what_ I wanted to do at that moment.

"Well, summer's a long way off. And I probably won't be able to afford it anyway." I shrugged it off.

"Mitch, I can-" I cut him off.

"Shane, no. You've done enough as it is. Stop." He rolled his eyes but agreed.

"Can I tell you something?" He whispered.

"What?" I whispered back, curiously.

"I love you." He kissed me before I could yell at him. That boy was crazy.

Monday morning, Mom yelled up to my- I mean our, room. "Mitchie, Caitlyn. Time for school!" I pushed my CD into my computer as I do every morning. Caitlyn rolled out of bed, and I saw her dancing her way around the room. I laughed at her antics, knowing I did them myself a lot, too.

Once we were both dressed, we headed downstairs to breakfast. "Morning, girls." Mom greeted us. "Caitlyn, you'll have to stop by the main office to pick up your schedule for the day, okay?" We noticed Hot Tunes was on and begged her too turn it up. She laughed at us.

"_Connect 3 bad boy Shane Grey seems to have changed his ways. The label reports that his summer away helped him find the _new_ him. The label won't comment on what exactly caused the change, but they're liking it."_

Caitlyn nudged me as I blushed a bit. "Look at you. Being talked about on Hot Tunes."

"Oh I was not. They were talking about why Shane chang-…ed." I hate when Caitlyn's right. "Let's go. We don't want to be late."

Caitlyn just laughed.

As we entered the building, I gave Caitlyn the needed info to survive my school.. "Stay away from Rosie Maren. She's out to use you for your boyfriend. And she's a total Tess anyway. Secondly, say nothing of Connect 3 or any upcoming projects, got it?" I warned her.

"Why, yes, _mom_. I think I do." She laughed at me as we headed for the main office.

"Oh sweet!" I jumped a little. "You're in all my classes. Awesome!" Caitlyn and I started jumping up and down until the secretary glared at us. We high fived quickly and scurried out.

Classes were normal until lunch. I had to go to the bathroom, so I sent Caitlyn in with Sierra. When I came back though, I found Caitlyn at the table surrounded by Rosie's lemmings. I laughed to myself, Caitlyn did not look happy. I was kind of mad I didn't see Sierra anyway.

"So, are you, like, dating him?" Caitlyn smiled politely.

"Dating who?" She asked.

Confused, the airhead replied, "_Nate_?"

"Who?" Caitlyn said again. The girl was a lot like Ella, but in a less adorable-more annoying way.

"Cait, be nice." I said sitting down next to her. "Are we slumming?" I asked looking around the table.

"I believe we are." She replied.

"Where'd Sierra go?" I asked, ignoring the gaping airheads,

Caitlyn scowled a bit. "Don't know. She pointed, and ran."

"Oh. Okay, then." I shrugged. "So are you excited?"

She started bouncing in her seat a bit. "Totally!"

"Well say hi to the boys for me later." I instructed.

"Definitely." She nodded. After a few minutes of awkward silence, the lemmings finally left. "_Well_." Caitlyn said, "That was pleasant."

"Yeah… moving on." I said excitedly. "Did Nate happen to tell you about our potential summer plans?"

Caitlyn let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, he finally told you?"

I pouted. "How long have you know?"

"Since we were offered jobs." She smiled apologetically. "But I wasn't with him then! He mentioned that you and Peggy would probably end up going on tour with them. Then when we started dating, he said I could come, too." I felt a little better, but I was still kinda mad she didn't tell me.

"Why didn't _you_ tell me?" I asked.

"Because _I_ was sworn to secrecy by _your_ boyfriend." I smiled at the mention of him.

"He's _way_ too good to me." I sighed, thinking of the conversation we'd had the other night. "I offered to pay for Camp Rock next summer if I can't afford it."

"Wow. That boy is _seriously_ in love." She paused. "Can we switch?" We laughed, lost in our own little world.

"Nah, I think I'll keep mine. Nate's not my type."

"Good." She said it so seriously, she had me taken aback. However, her laughter couldn't be contained and she laughed hysterically at the look on my face. Soon I joined in. The bell rang and we were still laughing.

"Seriously, though. A phone, going on tour, a possible record deal, Camp Rock? I fell like I owe him so much. And… I have nothing to give back." This had been bugging me ever since the phone, and just seems to be getting worse.

"He loves you. All you have to give him is that back. I think, subconsciously, he's afraid you _are_ only with him for what he has and who he is. But he loves you so much that he's giving you everything you could possibly want. He _wants_ to spoil you. He wants you to be happy. All you gotta do is love him for _him_. Like you do."

I was speechless as we sat down in class. "Wow, Caitlyn. That was… insightful."

"So, my boyfriend and I _may_ talk about _you and your boyfriend_ a bit." I gave her a look. "Okay, a lot." She resigned. "He's worried about Shane, and I'm worried about you. That's all. Nate likes you. He's just worried that Shane is throwing everything he's got into this relationship and that if it doesn't work out, it's either going to destroy Shane or the band. Or both. Shane's _pretty dependant_ on you already." I smiled thinking of needy he is.

"I know. I don't mind." I said softly, lost in my own world of Shane.

"Mitchie." Caitlyn sighed hopelessly. "You are so gone." She teased with a smile.

"Yeah. Well. Why are you worried about me?" I asked, curiously.

"You get so worked up over everything. I'm worried you won't be able to handle it when they aren't around as much. You're pretty dependant on him, too."

"I guess, I've already lost him once. And it was _horrible_. I don't want to lose him again. I… I love him."

"I know." She said softly as the teacher began class.

I guess, everyone isn't as supportive of us as we thought.

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	5. Chapter 5

I had over 100 messages in my mail box from ff . net this morning. Lol. Thank you to everyone who has alerted/fav'd this story. :-D. I hope you like this chapter. It was a bit awkward to write. I promise the next one will be better. And drama filled. :-p

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Chapter 5

I had hoped everything would get better at school, but everything seemed to get worse. Rosie would glare at me and had everyone believing Caitlyn and I were using Nate and Shane. But that was expected. The part that hurt was Sierra, _my best friend since forever_, had abandoned me. She got mad that Caitlyn was there and found herself new friends. _Rosie_ kind of friends. She got upset that I spent so much time with Caitlyn and Shane, and the other guys, and never her. I tried to explain it to her, but she wouldn't listen. She told me to go live my dreams. She wouldn't stand in my way.

It's an odd feeling when you stop being friends with someone. I guess, it's like breaking up. You want the best for each other, but you know that you can't be anymore. But, like a breakup, you move on. I filled her gap quite easily with Caitlyn, who was already becoming closer to me than Sierra and I had been. But even with Caitlyn, school felt empty and cold. Like we were alienated. Not because we weren't noticed. Because we _were_. At least we had Shane and Nate. And Jason, can't forget him.

"Come on, come on." Shane pulled me down the hallway excitedly. We were spending the whole day in the studio today. We'd worked on a few lyrics over the last two months, but we hadn't touched "This Is Me" since Final Jam. Today, we were _recording it_.

"Don't be nervous." He cooed at me as we entered the room. Caitlyn made a face at me from the other side of the glass before mouthing, 'Your late.' to us. I glared at her.

"Sorry. Traffic." Shane lied to Milo as we put our head phones on. In reality, we'd been making out in his car. Dad offered to keep the car at the house when they went on tour, which had been the only reason he didn't have one. Dad was _finally _accepting my relationship and that it would hopefully be there for awhile. Caitlyn didn't voice her concerns again, and I never said anything to Shane about them, either.

Milo laughed at us as Caitlyn slipped the original music we used for the song into a machine I couldn't see. As the beat began, I began singing the first verse. For the first trial of the song, I was going to sing the chorus alone.

When the second verse began, Shane was singing. The lyrics were in front of him, but his eyes were trained on mine. I was amazed that he knew the words to my song _by heart_. After the second chorus, we sang the song the way we had at Final Jam.

"A-_mazing_." Caitlyn complimented us when we finished. "Kay. Milo wants you to do it again, with both of you singing the chorus."

We spent the rest of the morning recording various versions of _who sang what_. When we broke for lunch, Milo stayed, listening to them all while Caitlyn, Shane, and I went out to get food.

"You two amaze me. _Seriously_." Caitlyn insisted, again. She complimented us after every single take. Except for the slow version we sang. Our song has too much _passion_ and _emotion_ to be slow, apparently.

"Thanks, Caitlyn." I blushed, knowing it was pointless to argue. Somehow we'd made it to a small café without too much notice. "Are you going to tweak the music too much? Personally, I _love_ the way it is."

"_Well_..." It was her turn to blush. "We might mix in the guitar from 'Gotta Find You' or we might make the opening pure acoustic and bring in the beat when the chorus hits. Which is similar to how we already have it."

As a waiter came to take our order a certain curly-haired pop star _ever so gracefully_ plopped himself into the seat next to his girlfriend. "Hey, Caity." He kissed Caitlyn's cheek. I rose an eyebrow while she glared and blushed at the same time. "Sup, man?" Shane nodded to Nate while Caitlyn and I were making faces. "Mitchie." He nodded across the table at me. I was unsure around Nate ever since my conversation with Caitlyn. "How's the song coming?"

"They are _amazing_ together!" Caitlyn gushed before either of us could. "This song is going to be _so perfect_."

"Caitlyn, please, a new word?" Shane begged, shockingly sick of being called amazing. She blushed and mumbled an apology. "It's coming along pretty good. Milo's picking the version he likes with just altering the duet aspect. When we get back we'll mess around with keys and pitches, etc."

"Sounds good. What are you gonna do with Gotta Find You though? Aren't the lyrics the same?" Nate questioned. I'd been curious about that, too.

Shane paused, uncertain. "I'm, I'm not gonna record it." I choked on my soda.

"You're _what_?" Nate and I exclaimed together.

"Shane, that song is _am-_ absolute gold." Caitlyn said, confusion written in her voice.

He shrugged, grabbing my hand under the table. "I know. But, I wrote it for Mitchie. I thought about it, and you know, how it could be like the next big love song _that everyone_ knows. And thinking about all these other people using that song just felt _wrong_. I want to be the only person able to sing that song to my girlfriend." I melted at his words. Nate's eyes seemed to slant a little. Great, I thought. Now he'll think Shane is throwing away an amazing song because of me.

Caitlyn, luckily, came to our rescue. "If they broke up, I don't think Shane would want to hear that song _ever_." Shane glared at her a little for _even thinking_ that he and I could break up.

"The lyrics are still in This Is Me." Nate argued.

Shane was quick to explain the difference. "That's not _my song_. It's not the one _I wrote_. _For Mitchie_." He paused. "And I'm singing it _with Mitchie_. Therefore, it'd be harder for some random guy to sing it to his girlfriend. It'd be like," He searched for the words to express what he wanted to say. "Like, _someone's song_. You know how people go 'oh, it's our song!' If people can relate to what Mitchie and I are singing, then that's different." It wasn't that different, but I understood what he meant. I don't know if Nate did, though. Once Caitlyn awed, however, I'm _pretty sure_ Nate understood a bit better.

"Look at you, a _romantic_, who knew?" I teased.

He pouted. "I _thought_ my amazing girlfriend did." I giggled, kissing him lightly as the waiter brought out our food. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nate smile a bit. I was hoping maybe he'd see I was as serious about Shane as he was about me.

Caitlyn dragged Nate back to the studio to hear the duet for himself when we headed back. Surprisingly, Milo liked the first version the best. Apparently, he had been comparing the rest to it since he heard it.

"I know, I know. You're thinking, then why did I make you sing all those other versions..." He said rolling his eyes and huffing comically. "We had to explore all the options. This just proves you two know what you're doing with _your music_."

We took the compliment and headed back into the booth. I saw Nate's jaw drop as we began belting out the song. After the first take, Nate spoke into the mic. "Wow. Your voices... they just... _naturally_ harmonized. Caitlyn and Milo didn't touch anything." Shane smiled at me, and I smiled at Caitlyn, a thankful look in my eyes.

"Alright, we'll play around a bit more today, then tomorrow I want to bring in the band to record the music." Nate seemed surprised, but didn't say anything as Shane and I began singing again.

It was pretty late by the time Shane dropped me off. I was very happy it was a Saturday. My throat was going to be hurting tomorrow, not used to being used so much. I was also immensely tired. Caitlyn and I collapsed into our beds, both still fully clothed and curled up.

Shane wouldn't say how it went with the boys on Sunday, so Monday morning in school I asked Caitlyn, who'd gotten home late again the night before.

"Well," She began. "Amazing." She laughed as I glared at her playfully. "No, seriously, it was good. Jason almost cried when he heard the song. Nate had taken a copy of the song home and worked on the music. Shane was amazed when he heard it. It fits perfectly. You'll love it."

I started pouting, "But when do I get to _hear_ it?"

"Soon, Mitch." She laughed at me.

I did love it. The two days later, Milo had gotten all the music together and he and Caitlyn spent hours mixing it. When they finally added our voices over it, they made Shane go pick me up and bring me to the studio immediately. Milo seemed to be enjoying working on this as much as us teenagers were.

"Well, there we have it." Milo said after he played it for me. "Connect 3's second single off of the new album."

"Oh my god, really?" I was so excited.

Milo laughed, "Yup. They're releasing Play My Music as soon as they get the music video done. Two weeks later, fan club members will be able to _listen_ to a sample of This Is Me. It'll be released in January _just in time_ for Valentine's Day." Milo laughed even harder at the look on my face. I was stunned.

"I'm still having trouble believing this is real." I said still in full disbelief. Shane just kissed the side of my head while wrapping his arm around me.

It was late in November by now, and the boys would be leaving the day after Thanksgiving to film the music video. It was going to be the first real test of the our relationships, and Caitlyn and I were nervous. We didn't know if we'd be able to handle not being with them or being able to talk to them as much. Of course, I was more nervous that Shane would get aggravated and throw a fit at some point, and Nate would blame me. But they were hoping it'd only be two weeks, if they were lucky. The label was concerned that their normal director wouldn't be able to pull off the 'new Connect 3' image, and that they'd have to restart with a new director. Which would keep the boys longer.

But, on a happier note, Caitlyn's parents, Shane's _family_, Nate's parents, and Jason's parents, as well as Brown, would be joining us for Thanksgiving Dinner a la Connie. Mom tends to go over board with Thanksgiving dinner. I was quite nervous about having all these people in my house. Especially Shane's family. Not just his _parents_. His younger brother and sister as well. He talked about them all the time, and I was afraid if they hated me, he might reevaluate everything. I know, _stupid, _right?

Caitlyn's excitement, at meeting Nate's parents and seeing her own, though, was contagious. By Thursday afternoon we were too excited to do anything. The guys were in their apartment making sure everything was parent proof, while we were supposed to be helping Mom make dinner. Eventually she kicked us out of the kitchen and told us to go set the table, knowing that would occupy us for a while.

It was a _very_ big table. We moved the living room furniture into the dining room, and placed the a bunch of rectangular tables into a giant square like table.

"Do you know what you're gonna wear tonight?" Caitlyn asked as she followed me, placing bowls onto the plates I was placing.

I shrugged. "Honestly? I have _no_ idea." I paused, grabbing a handful of glasses. "I was thinking, this black shirt that I've never worn-"

Caitlyn interrupted me excitedly, "Ooh, the one that has the silver design on the bottom with the lace on the edges?"

"Yeah. How'd you guess?" I asked, surprised.

She shrugged. "Saw it in the _very back_ of your closet when I was hanging up my stuff. I've been wondering why I've never seen you wear it." Shrugging again, she moved on. "What else are you gonna wear?"

"Probably my gray skinny jeans, with my black boots." I placed the last glass around the table. "What about you?"

"I don't know!" She complained, groaning slightly. "I want to make a good impression on Nate's parents, but I don't want to _not_ be me. Otherwise my second impression will _not_ be favorable."

"Well," I paused to think. "What about... oh! Do you remember that gold tie your wore at Final Jam?"

"Yeah..." She didn't seem to catch what I was suggesting.

I rolled my eyes. "Work around that. That way you _can_ be you, but still look presentable to for the occasion."

Suddenly light bulbs went off in her head. "_You_ are a genius!" She said hugging my side. I just laughed. We finished setting the table with minor chit chat before heading to get dressed.

Caitlyn slipped her tie on as I zipped my boat up. The door bell ringing caused both of us to run down the stairs, laughing and grinning. Mom had answered the door before we could, and Shane's parents and Brown were staring up at us as we stopped short on the stairs. Shane looked a lot like his Dad, except his fathers hair was very short, unlike Shane's. Brown was definitely from his mother's side.

"You must be Mitchie and Caitlyn." Mrs. Gray said smiling warmly at us. Mr. Gray looked very amused at the site of us.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you." I said offering my hand. "I'm Mitchie."

Mr. Gray shook my hand laughing, "There is no way of mistaking that. Shane's described you enough times for me to paint you without ever seeing you." I blushed, remembering that Mr. Gray was in fact a painter.

"Oh, look what you did. You made her blush!" Mrs. Gray scolded her husband who merely laughed.

Mom ushered them into the house, "Let's get you out of the cold." A moment later I heard Shane's car pull into my driveway. Sad as it was, I knew the sound of his Mustang. He didn't bother to knock, he just walked in, his siblings in tow. He kissed me lightly to say hello before turning to his brother and sister.

"Mitchie, this is my brother Kevin and my sister Nicky." He pointed to two curly haired twins. One had Shane's dark hair, the other was a lighter brown. They looked more like their mother, but you could see the resemblance. Their curls perplexed me, though. "Kev, Nic, this is my girlfriend Mitchie." They smiled tightly at me and said hello.

"Nice to meet you." I replied, smiling just as strained. "This is Nate's girlfriend, and my best friend, Caitlyn." I took the pressure off of me, only to throw it on Caitlyn, who received the same tight smile. Thankfully, Nate and Jason arrived then, also not knocking.

"Hey." Nate kissed Caitlyn's cheek, causing her to relax. "These are my parents and Jason's parents," He indicated the two sets of adults who had just entered behind them. "Mom, Dad. This is my girlfriend Caitlyn." They smiled at her a little apprehensively at first. Though I noticed their smiles brighten as they took in her appearance. I think they were relieved she didn't look like Tess in anyway.

"And _this_," Jason threw an arm around me, "Is Shane's girlfriend, and our friend, Mitchie." They shook my hand as well.

"Alright, we're just waiting for Caitlyn's parents, so I guess have a seat." I smiled at them. Everyone but Caitlyn, Nate, and Shane sat down. I noticed Caitlyn and Nate slip into the hallway where Caitlyn let out a huge breath before Nate kissed her forehead.

"My parents seem to like you." Shane said quietly, gesturing to them.

I nodded. "They're nice." My smile slid off my face. "Your siblings don't though."

"They're... a lot like me." He said by way of explanation.

I chuckled. "That's not reassuring."

He grinned. "I don't care what they think anyway. I love you. And that's all that matters to me. If I listened to others we wouldn't be together." He kissed me, silencing the questions I now had burning in me. Who didn't want us to be together?

Finally, Caitlyn's parents arrived and everyone sat down for dinner.

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	6. Chapter 6

I'm really glad you guys like the story so much. This one isn't one of my longer ones, but oh my god, is there drama. I wanted to end it at '_Nothing.' _But I stretched a bit more out of it. Mitchie may seem a bit extreme in this chapter, too. Points to anyone who can see where Mitchie is once again _inspiring_ Shane. Hehe.

Oh, and I had to fix Ch 5 a bit! I forgot to write Brown's arrival in. So, nothing major.

And does anyone know why some stories aren't being bumped to the first page when they get updated more than once a day?

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Chapter 6

Dinner had been going really well while everyone ate. Or at least it _was_ until Mrs. Gray opted to start speaking to me. Not that a mother talking to her son's girlfriend is bad. No, it was his _siblings_ that were horrible. Well, more like his sister.

It started out pretty safe. "Mitchie, Shane tells us the two of you just recorded a duet?" She asked.

"Yeah, I mean, yes." I looked down blushing slightly. I felt Shane rubbing my knee.

"He said you wrote it. Is that true?" She was making the effort, I could tell.

I smiled brightly at him for a moment before turning to his mother. "Actually, _we_ wrote it. I wrote the original, but after interrupting my Final Jam performance with his song, we realized they fit together really well." I said happily.

And that was when it started. "I'll bet." I heard Nicky remark. I saw Shane shoot her a look.

"Yeah, I'd had Mitchie's song stuck in my head when I wrote my song, so the melodies were similar." Shane said pointedly at his sister.

"Caitlyn," I said nodding toward her, "Mixed the original music I used for the song. She and Milo mixed the new music as well." I wanted the attention off of me. Besides, Nate's parents seemed pretty impressed.

"Really?" Mr. Frances seemed very interested in that. "Nate didn't tell us that. He said you were working as an intern."

"I am. But Milo's letting me do a lot of hands on stuff. That and because I created the original sound for the song, he wanted my input. I didn't put half as much effort into the other songs I helped on. This one is special to all of us. Even Nate." Caitlyn passed the attention onto her boyfriend. This was like hot potato.

"Why is that, Nate?" Mr. Gellar asked.

"Uhm, I wrote a lot of the music, mixing both melodies." For a pop star, that boy really hated attention. "Shane's right the melodies are very similar to begin with."

"Seems like Shane stole your music, then," Mr. Gray teased his son.

"Eh, I'll let him." I smiled happy at how _mostly well_ things were going. Caitlyn's parents started questioning Nate for a little while before the music topic came back.

"The label is letting you write your own songs for the new album?" Mrs. Gellar asked curiously.

"Yes. They thought it best to give our new sound a chance. It appeased Shane making him calm down a bit, and thanks to Mitchie he had a bunch of new songs running through his mind." Nate said laughing. "We owe Mitchie a lot." I was surprised at Nate's words.

"Do you write a lot of songs, Mitchie?" Mrs. Gellar asked me.

I stammered. "Yes. I mean, they aren't that great, though."

At that, Brown interjected. "What have I told you about that, Miss Torres? You write wonderful songs. Stop being so hard on yourself."

"Sorry, Brown." I smiled.

"Right, you went to Camp Rock." Kevin said, speaking for the first time all night.

"Somehow." Nicky mumbled.

I stuttered. "Yeah. That's where I met Caitlyn and Shane. And of course Nate and Jason."

"Did you enjoy it? I remember how much fun the boys had when they went there." Jason's mother, Mrs. Bishop asked. "Though, Brown, you let them get away with a lot of stuff!"

I smiled at Brown. "Mostly." Smirking at Caitlyn, I continued, "Classes were fun, but the the food was eh. Better than previous years I'm told, but it wasn't _amazing_." Us teenagers began laughing, while Brown and Dad tried not to laugh. Mom glared at me playfully. The others looked quiet confused, so I explained. "My mother catered there this summer. It was… how I was able to go. Caitlyn ended up with Kitchen Duty, so we spent a lot of time _attempting_ to cook." Nicky muttered something I hadn't heard, but obviously Shane had.

"Nicky, shut up, already." He snapped, glaring at the younger girl. She was only a few months, maybe a year younger than me.

Attempting to move on, I added, "Shane and Nate attempted to help cook breakfast on the last day. Unfortunately, they have _no_ culinary skills and Mom kicked 'em out so Cait and I could actually help." Caitlyn and I laughed remember, while Shane and Nate seemed to be blushing. I saw Nicky make a face.

"What is your deal?" Shane yelled at her across the table.

She sat back huffing. "Like I _need_ to explain it."

"_Yeah_, sis, _ya do_." Shane replied.

"She's just using you. Once the duet is released, they'll sign her and she'll drop you faster than you can blink." To say I was pissed off, well, that would be an understatement.

"No, she won't. So drop it." Shane growled at his sister.

She laughed humorlessly. "How would you know? You're so blind." In a voice imitating Shane, she continued, "She's _so_ amazing. She has _the greatest_ voice I've ever heard. I _love her_ so much." Returning to her normal voice, she laughed again, "Mark my words, she's going to."

"I am not!" I defended myself. "I could care less about _being signed_. _Shane_ spontaneously sang _with me_. The record label _liked it_. _Shane_ asked me to sing it with him _on the record_. _Not me_." I glared at the younger girl.

"What ever you say, Princess." She replied not caring. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes but refused to let them fall. I stood quietly, and stammered an excuse before exiting to the kitchen.

Shane followed. Did you expect him not to? He wrapped his arms around me as I collapsed into his chest crying. "I just… I wanted this to be _perfect_. And now your sister _hates me_. And your parents are probably thinking she's right." I cried.

"Shh." He rubbed my back soothingly. "I know you aren't using me. We've been through this. Remember? I don't care what other people, even my sister, say about us, okay?"

Remembering our conversation from earlier I stepped back, but not out of his arms. "Others like who, Shane?" I really wanted to know who was so against us.

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged it off.

"Tell me." I demanded.

"Nate. Chris. Most of the execs at Lava. Kevin." I blinked, moving away from him. "Mitchie-"

"No. I'm fine. Just… why are they so _against_ us? And I thought the label _wanted_ us together?"

"Chris hates people who can distract his artists." He said coming closer to me, though my back was to him. "And you, Mitchie Torres," He held me tight against him, "Distract me." I was still crying, and may have even been sobbing at that point. "Nate was afraid of me getting hurt. The concept of us has grown on him." He kissed my cheek, then my jaw. "The execs? Similar to Chris." He kissed between my jaw and neck. "Except they're more worried about the press, given the age difference." He kissed further down my neck. "'Cept Bradley. Bradley _loves_ you. He really does want to sign you." He kissed what was exposed of my shoulder. "Kevin just follows what Nicky says, only he's nicer about it." He pulled his lips away from my skin and turned me around. "I love you, Mitchie. _Nothing_ is going to change that." He kissed me for real, and we both poured everything we had into that kiss.

Pulling back, I looked him in the eyes. "I love you, too." I know. I said it was too soon for those words, and yet we keep saying them. But that was almost three months ago.

"I wanna stay like this forever, Mitchie." He whispered, his forehead pressed against mine. "I never wanna let go of you."

"Shane…" I whispered brokenly. "Maybe… maybe you should."

Confusion clouded his eyes as I struggled to understand what I was saying myself. "What?" He was no longer whispering, but his tone was still soft.

"Maybe," I stuttered, looking away from him. "Maybe, while your gone… ya know, filming. Maybe we should, take a break? You can see if this is really what you want or if its just this notion you have in your head."

"Mitchie, no." He argued. He caught me as I pulled away. "Don't do this. Don't let them get to you. You'll just be giving them what they want." He begged. I never expected him to beg.

"I know." I said pulling my wrist loose, still not facing him. I couldn't let him see the tears streaking down my face. "Shane, there are a lot of things about us that, _sometimes_, they don't feel right." I heard him moving toward me again. I let him. He titled my chin toward him allowing him to see my tears. "_I need_ to know if what we have is real, or just, all in our heads."

"Mitchie, please." He was crying. That was a bigger shocker than the begging. I _never_ expected to see him cry. And I never wanted to again. That image broke me.

"Shane, please. Don't-" A sob escaped my throat. "Please, just, do this."

"This isn't going to prove anything!" He yelled at me.

"You don't know that!" I yelled back. Tiredly, I, myself, begged, "Please, Shane. Don't make this any harder."

Broken, he moved away from me. "Fine. If this is what you want. I'll, I'll call you when I get back." He started walking away, then paused in the door frame. "I mean what I say, Mitchie. I love you. _Nothing_ is going to change that."

I don't know how long it was before I heard Shane yell at his sister or Caitlyn came running in with Mom, or how long I sat there crying my eyes out. All I know was _nothing_ had ever hurt that bad in my life. _Nothing_.

I spent every moment I wasn't forced to leave my bed, tucked away in the security of it. It smelled like him. I could sense his scent lingering from the many times we'd laid on my bed talking. Or kissing. But usually talking.

Caitlyn told me Nate felt horrible for everything he'd ever said about us. He didn't realize how much we really cared about one another. He said Shane was miserable without me. He was irritable every time he wasn't alone in his room. Though, on the bright side, he'd learned to keep his anger in check. _Mostly_. He apparently punched Chris in the face a few times after a remark Nate wouldn't share.

Admittedly, I had a similar experience. I was literally a walking zombie. I'd been on the verge of tears constantly. Rosie seemed to take notice.

"Awe, what's the matter?" She cooed in a baby voice. "Did wittle Mitchie get her heart broken?" Speaking in a normal voice, she continued as I glared. "You did, didn't you? He finally realized he could do better?" I looked around, wondering where the hell Caitlyn was. "It was a matter of time, Mitchie, even you had to know that."

"Shut up, Rosie." I swallowed thickly.

"Oh, you didn't?" She laughed. "You really think he loved you?" She asked incredulously.

"Shut up, Rosie." I said more forcefully, standing up to get away from her.

But she wouldn't, she followed me and she kept going. "I better he never did. Probably never told you he did either, did he? You said it first and he broke up with you." She guessed. I'd had it. I turned around and slapped her. _Hard_. I've never slapped anyone in _my life_.

"You know _nothing_ about me, or Shane, or anything to do with us. So shut the hell up for once in your damn pathetic little life where you feel the need to step on everyone else." I was screaming at her by the end. Caitlyn had appeared at some point and pulled me out into the hallway where a teacher who had seen me slap her followed.

"Miss Torres. Principal's office. _Now_." They said guiding me. I shrugged them off. I didn't care.

While we waited, Caitlyn ripped into me. "Come on, Mitchie. It's been a week. They'll be home in no time, and you and Shane can fix this." Caitlyn's patience was waning. I didn't realize the toll this had been taking on her as well. "You need to get out of this slump."

"I can't _fix it_, Caitlyn. I know why I did what I did. I need him to be _absolutely certain_ this is what he wants." I swallowed. "Maybe, everyone else _is_ right and we're wrong. Maybe he needs to clear his head so he can see that."

She sighed, squatting in front of me. "Mitchie… Do you see how _miserable_ you are? Do you think that's how Shane wants you to be? He wants you to be _happy_. That boy _loves_ you." Her tone became desperate as she practically yelled at me. "Why are you letting other people get to you, again?" The secretary looked at us funny, but we didn't really notice. I sat there staring blankly ahead, knowing she was right.

"Do you think he'll forgive me?" I whispered quietly.

"I don't know, Mitchie." She answered honestly. "Probably." She smiled.

"What if I _was_ right, Caitlyn? What if he _does_ realize he doesn't love me as much as he thought?"

"I don't have the answer for you, Mitch. Only he does. And you need to wait until he come back to get them." Sighing, she sat next to me again. "How about, we go Christmas shopping? Get your mind off of everything?"

I nodded weakly as the principal called me into her office. "Sure." I called over my shoulder.

My hand stung as the principal scolded me. It was against the rules to harm another student. When I explained the harassment of the last couple of months, she lightened my punishment, but swore I still had to be punished. So, on top of possibly loosing the greatest guy in the world, I had detention for an hour everyday after school for a week. Gee, thanks. Give me time to think in the eerie quiet of detention about my potential ex-boyfriend and how stupid I was. And as if school and detention weren't enough, my parents lectured me for hours.

I was looking forward to going shopping so badly, just to get away from everything else. I knew Caitlyn wouldn't let me stay in my own little world much longer, anyway. The downfall to living with your best friend.

All I really knew at the moment was how much I _missed_ Shane. How badly I wanted to hear his voice. I played my Connect 3 CD over and over, as well as Gotta Find You. Caitlyn eventually stole my CD and hide the files on my computer. "As much as I love hearing my boyfriend's voice, it gets tiring." That was three days before this whole thing. I hoped she'd have compassion and give them back now.

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Review?


	7. Chapter 7

So… I'm loving all of you so much. And for everyone plotting Nicky's murder, don't. She's just doing what we little sisters do. Older brothers tend to be stupid and blindly in love. Aaaand, I know you'll like this chapter. Things are starting to really heat up between Mitchie and Shane.

There isn't a real time line with these chapters anymore. 1 night can last between 2 chapters, or I can jump weeks in 1 chapter. This way I'm avoiding filler-y stuff.

And only one song will have the lyrics_ mostly_ if not _fully_ written out in this entire story. But you'll have to wait for that. And Mitchie's song isn't real, and she doesn't 'sing it' for you cause, I can't write songs. I mock myself at some point in there.

There may only be 1 update a day now, though, cause the site isn't updating if you post more than one chapter every 24 hours, I think. So, unless you've got an alert, you won't exactly know if it updated or not.

Long A/n over now.

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Chapter 7

Caitlyn and I walked around the Mall absently, with no particular destination in mind. We were walking with a pair of earphones between us, listening to Caitlyn's mp3 player. She had confiscated mine when I blew out my headphones the day before from blasting the music. We weren't saying much, and oddly enough, it was getting to _me_.

Needing to break the silence, I asked, "So, what are you getting Nate?"

She shrugged. Yeah, that was a useful answer. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. What to get your famous rock star boyfriend? Hmm…" She tapped her chin playfully. "I was thinking of getting him some new ties or something. Lame, I know. But the boy needs some new ones." We giggled, knowing it was true. Nate always wore the same 3 ties.

"Oh, maybe we could find some cool dress shirts for him? Like, ones that have designs on them? I'm getting sick of the solid colors on those boys."

Caitlyn paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I love how not only are they _older_ than us, but they're 18 & 19, and we call them _boys_ all the time." I thought on that for a moment before looking at her.

"Oh well." We said together and proceeded in our search for the perfect Nate gift.

We walked past an Arts & Crafts store and saw an advertisement.

"Oooh!" Caitlyn said pointing.

"I know!" I replied equally excited. We rushed into the store and bought the last one. "Well, there's Jason's gift."

"I feel bad about only getting him one present. Nate and Shane are each going to have two." Caitlyn said depressed.

"We'll try to find him something else, too." I assured her.

We continued to search the mall. We'd managed to find Nate some really good shirts and new ties. They were probably more Caitlyn's style than his, but we knew he'd love them. As a joke, we bought them Connect 3 guitar pics.

Trying to control her laughter as we continued to search the music store, Caitlyn relented, "Okay, okay. I know the whole point was to _distract_ you. But are you going to get Shane anything?"

I sighed. "I want to. But I don't know what to get him." Nate _needed_ new clothes. Shane doesn't. "I was originally thinking of maybe getting him stuff for his Mustang. But I couldn't think of anything. And after his birthday, I _really_ want to get him something special."

His birthday had been in the end of October. I spent weeks trying to figure out what to get him. In the end I was clueless and gave him a card with an IOU. Shopping for him is like _impossible_!

"You know." Caitlyn paused, picking up a CD she wanted. "You could always _make_ him a gift."

"Like?" I asked confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh I don't _know_. You have an amazing voice, _which he loves. _You write awesome songs, _that he loves_. You make good melodies, _he gets stuck in his head_. And you have a best friend who happens to _love_ mixing music. I have _no idea_ how you can pull those into a Christmas present, Mitch." I smiled, hugging her tightly. The music videos that had been playing in the background on HotTunes paused for a news report.

"_He may not be storming off the sets, but Shane Grey is _still_ costing the label a lot of money on them. Hospital bills, this time, for his now former manager Chris Swane, who the pop star punched in the face 3 times before band mates pulled him away. An insider says the two go into words. Then, Swane made a comment about Grey's girlfriend, in which Grey responded to by punching him. On the upside of this drama, we seem to have finally found out the reason for Grey's change this past summer. He's in love…"_

"Oh, wow." Caitlyn stammered. "Nate told us, but wow." I didn't say anything. I just wanted to get away from that store. I walked back out into the mall, leaving Caitlyn to buy the pics. I called Mom to come get us while I waited.

"How does this sound?" I asked as Caitlyn came back out, "My knight shining armor, you slay may dragons for me?"

"I like it." She said as we started walking toward the parking lot. "He _is_ like your real life prince charming." I kept humming to myself though.

"Ooh, I always thought the fairytale world wasn't where I wanted to be. Then I found my prince charming, my knight in shining armor, And you slay'd my dragons and rescued me."

"I like it so far. Not really sure if it's more lyric-y or poem-y, but I like it."

"Well, of course it needs work." I laughed just as Mom pulled up.

I worked on Shane's song during my time in detention. Caitlyn was right, it was a little poem like. It didn't matter though. As long as I had _something_ to give to him and explain how I felt to him. The week passed slowly. Mostly because Nate had told Caitlyn they would be a few days longer than expected. Shane really screwed up his hand.

By Wednesday the following week, I was back to zombie mode. Everyday they weren't back, the more depressed I had become. Caitlyn laughed at me when I came down for breakfast.

"Wow. I didn't even know you _owed_ sweatpants." I smiled at her. "Nice shirt, by the way."

I stuck out my tongue playfully. "Thanks." I looked at the TV and saw the Connect 3 logo, but the volume was low. "Oh god. What did they do now?" I asked.

"Announced the tour and new album approximate dates." She replied laughing. "They aren't _always_ in trouble."

I cracked a half smile. "But usually."

I felt and looked like a total bum at school that day, but I really didn't care. I just wanted the day to be over. Finally, Caitlyn and I walked out of the school. There were only a handful of students outside already. Most were still at their lockers. I heard the familiar strumming of a guitar and paused.

I turned around faster than humanly possible when I heard his voice behind me. "Every time I think I'm closer to the heart…" He sang.

"Cait, tell me I'm not dreaming." I asked softly.

Shocked, she laughed, "You're not dreaming."

Once my eyes locked on his he never broke eye contact. He sang Gotta Find You to me as I moved closer. When he finished I was on the verge of tears.

"Three weeks. Nothin's changed, Mitch. At least not for me. How bout you?" He asked standing close enough to look down at me.

"Oh, Shane!" I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into his chest. "I'm so sorry." I cried. Pulling back, I stared up at him. "I love you, Shane. I know that without a doubt in my mind. I never want to go through something like this again. I'm so sorry." He wiped the tears that were falling down my face quickly.

Cupping my face he whispered to me, "I love you. I hate not being able to call you or text you. Dream you just ain't the same." By now, most of my school was watching our interaction but I didn't care.

"Can we just forget this and move on?" I asked.

But he shook his head no. "No. I need you to remember this. To remember how much this sucked, and how much we want to be together." He explained. "But we can move on." He kissed me then, and I relished in the sensation I'd missed for 3 weeks.

"How's your hand?" I asked stepping back to examine it.

He smirked. "It's fine. Chris' face wasn't all that hard. How's yours?" He asked pointedly.

"Nate told you about that?" I blushed.

He smiled, changing the subject. "Nice shirt by the way. Looks a little familiar." He teased.

"It smelled like you." I pouted looking down at his t-shirt I was wearing. He laughed, pulling me toward his car. "Where's Caitlyn?" I asked looking around.

"Nate." He replied.

Instead of taking me back to my house, he brought me to their apartment. I'd only been there a few times, usually with Caitlyn. He had already talked to Mom and kicked Jason out for the night. Nate was with Caitlyn at my house.

"So, what's with the privacy?" I asked as I sat on the couch.

He shrugged. "Just, wanted to be alone with you. I haven't seen you, much less talked to you in 3 weeks. I've missed you."

I smiled, kissing him lightly. "I've missed you, too. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." he dismissed it. "Now I don't have to deal with Chris, and you understand how serious I am about you."

"I know." I whispered.

We spent a lot of time kissing, holding, and just talking. After a while he ordered dinner, as we all know he can't cook _at all_. While we waited, he suddenly disappeared into his room, coming back a moment later with something in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked curiously. He sat back down and faced me, taking my hand in his.

"Don't freak, okay?" I nodded, confused. "I wanted to get you something, to show you how much I love you." He opened his hand to reveal a ring. I'll let that sink in for a moment.

"Shane-" I began protesting.

He laughed. "I told you not to freak." He smiled, holding the ring so I could see it better. It was a set of hands holding a heart with a crown on it. The heart was a purple amethyst stone. "It's a claddagh ring. Some… celtic thing. But I liked it and what it represented. I'm not asking you to marry me, I promise. It's a promise ring. That _someday_ I will. And that I'm yours and I plan on being yours _forever_ at this point."

I was a little speechless as he slipped it onto my left ring finger. "What does it mean? You said you liked what it represented." I asked examining the ring a bit. It was beautiful.

"The guy at the store said the claddagh is a traditional Irish symbol. The hands represent friendship and the heart represents love. The hands are supporting the heart because friendship is the foundation and support of true love. The crown is supposed to represent loyalty. The crown is protecting the heart from outside influence. Loyalty helps keep the heart true." He looked up from my hand at this point. "That could all be a bunch of bull the guy told me just to get me to buy the ring, though. But I like it."

I was crying again. "Wow. That is… amazing. I love it." I kissed him happily.

Later, we were laying on the couch just holding each other. I whispered softly looking up at him. "I thought I lost you." I admitted.

He smiled down at me before giving me a light, lingering kiss. "You could never loose me." I smiled as I buried my face into his chest again.

"Nicky apologized." He said quietly. I stiffened at the mention of the demon sister.

"Oh?" I tried to act indifferent.

I felt him nod. "Yeah, she didn't realize how much we cared about each other. Nate called and yelled at her after I punched Chris." I lifted my head slightly.

"Caitlyn didn't mention that."

He shrugged. "He didn't tell her. He wasn't too proud of yelling at a 14 year girl." He sighed. "It _was_ a funny conversation though. He told her that if the label fired me it'd be her fault in part because she was being too selfish to see that I was happy. Nate thinks she was upset because I used to go home and visit every chance I got, and I called her and Kev at least twice a week. Then you and I started dating and you became my whole world in her eyes."

I could understand her being upset with me then. I just nodded, laying my head back down. "She called me crying. She wants to call you and apologize, I just didn't think it'd be a good idea until I talked to you."

"Well, I want to get along with your sister, Shane. If you plan on us being together for a while, it'll make things easier."

He kissed my head laughing, "A while is an understand, Mitchie."

Mom and Dad flipped when they first saw the ring. But when I explained it, they relaxed a bit. I knew they thought Shane and I were moving too fast, but we weren't engaged. We were just… dedicated to one another. They didn't say anything about it, though. Caitlyn just smiled at me while I gushed about it.

Christmas was in a few days, and I was excited. Unfortunately, Shane and the others were going home for Christmas. I wasn't going with him, though. I wanted to spend the holiday with my parents and family. We also knew asking my parents would result in a lot of strain between them and us.

He was leaving tomorrow, along with the others, even Caitlyn, and tonight the group was exchanging gifts. We were all gathered in Connect 3's living room.

Caitlyn and I watched excitedly as Jason opened his present. "A birdhouse!" He exclaimed. "Well, sorta." He cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"You can make it yourself." I explained. Nate seemed to look extra relieved. Jason was always asking Shane if he'd made his birdhouse yet.

"Okay, now, from me." Jason said happily, handing Caitlyn and I presents. We smiled and opened them.

"Jason." We awed together. He got us matching charm bracelets. They both had a 3 and a J hanging off them as well as a heart. In my heart an S and M were engraved, while Caitlyn's had a C and N. I had a C and N hanging next to my J as well as a microphone. Caitlyn had an S and M as well as a music note.

"These are amazing, Jason." We hugged him. He smiled giddily. "Did you do this all on your own?" He nodded proudly. "Wow. Thank you."

"Okay, your turn!" Jason prompted. Caitlyn passed her gift to Shane while I passed my gift to Nate, as well as Jason's second gift. They unwrapped the small boxes and laughed as they pulled out the guitar pics.

"Seriously?" Nate asked us.

We shook our heads no and gave Shane and Nate their real gifts. Nate pulled out the ties I bought for him. We opted to have me give him the lamer gift. However, he loved them. Shane pulled out the checkered seat covers Caitlyn had bought him. They matched his guitar case perfectly.

"Thanks." They said smiling happily with their gifts.

"Okay, so Shane has to wait for my gift." I said as Caitlyn passed Nate her gift. Shane pouted playfully.

"_Sweet_! I needed new shirts." Nate was a little _too_ happy about the shirts we got him.

Nervous Caitlyn asked, "You like them?"

"I love them! They're like a perfect mix of my style and your style. How did you manage that?" I winked at her as she played it off.

"Here." Nate and Shane gave us our gifts.

"Wow, Nate." I said utterly surprised. Nate had gotten me a portfolio like notebook filled with blank lined paper and sheet music specially designed for lyrics to be written above the music. On the cover was printed 'Mitchie's Songs'.

"Well, you still use that one you made. I thought you could use a real one." I was touched at how much thought he put into my gift.

Returning to her own gift, Caitlyn gasped as she pulled it out of the paper. "Shane… thank you." He had gotten her a collection of beat samples she'd been wanting to get but was waiting until after Christmas to buy.

"For you, Caity." Nate passed her his gift. Nate barely caught her as she flung herself into his arms. A little known fact about Caitlyn: She loves baseball. And Nate had gotten her behind home plate tickets for her favorite team.

"Okay, your turn." Shane said as he passed me his gift. I was confused. "I thought you already gave me my gift." I held up my hand showing him the ring.

"Silly, silly, Mitchie. That was _just because_. Not your Christmas present." I smiled as I opened the long, thin box he handed me. A simple gold chain and locket looked up at me. The heart shaped locket had a stone in the center and etching all around it. It matched my ring. Opening it, two pictures stood out. One was of Shane and I from Final Jam singing our hearts out together. The other was us sleeping on my couch. We'd fallen asleep watching a movie.

"Shane, it's beautiful." I whispered as a lone tear streaked down my cheek. I kissed him while the others groaned.

Later that night, while the others hung out in the living room, Shane and I slipped into his room. He was bouncing with anticipation of his gift. I picked up his guitar, surprising him. I never touch his guitar.

"Well," I said sitting at his desk while he sat on the edge of his bed. "Once again, I had no idea what to get you. So, I wrote you a song. It's not... amazing, but…"

He silenced me. "Just play." He prompted smiling. I played 'Fairytales' for him and bit my lip in anticipation of what he thought.

He smirked at me. "Prince charming, huh?" I pushed him lightly,

"More like Prince Jerk." I laughed at him. He caught my wrist and pulled me on top of him so I was straddling him.

"Hi." He said smiling up at me slightly. I blushed.

"Hi." I said back. He kissed me slowly, letting the kiss last as long as possible.

"I loved it. You have to put it on a CD for me." He said as we pulled apart.

I smiled. "Caitlyn has it." He nodded as he stood up, with me still around him. He turned around and laid me on his bed, He moved his legs outside of mine and hovered over me. He kissed a trail down my neck to my collarbone and stopped.

"Relax." He whispered in my ear. I hadn't realized how tense I'd become. "We aren't there yet." He kissed behind my ear. "Besides." He held up his hand showing me his purity ring. "This does have _some_ meaning to me." He laughed lightly before continuing his mission of kissing every inch of my exposed skin.

Caitlyn knocked on the door not too long after, reminding us that we had to get home.

So far, I was loving Christmas.

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Review? Jason really wants you to... btw, Jason may be getting a love interest soon. I don't know yet.


	8. Chapter 8

I love your reviews. I really do. I'm glad you all liked the ring. It's one of my favorite pieces of jewelry I personally own for that exact reason. And Jason's fate has been decided, but you'll have to see. So I've been basing Mitchie living in New Jersey close to the City and The guys living in NYC. I've finally implimented that in my story. I figured I'm from Jersey, the Jonas' are form Jersey, why not? Lol. Enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 8

Shane had been texting me all day, complaining. First, his plane had gotten delayed on its way to where he was. Then, once they got on a different plane, they ended up in commercial. Jason had accepted the offer before jerky pop star Shane could say no. They ended up with a 13 year old staring at them the whole time and going on and on about how much she loved them. Shane made the mistake of saying how much his girlfriend would love someone like her, attempting to get her to shut up. Instead, she started pestering him about me instead.

While he was complaining and being annoyed to death, I was with the cooking and cleaning Nazis. I had cleaned every single inch of my bathroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. And during all that I had to help my mother cook. At least Christmas Eve there wasn't anything to do other than heat up all the food and slip in the pies.

Every Christmas Eve my father's family gets together, and every Christmas Day my mother's family gets together. Since we seem to live in the center of _both_ families, we have dinner at our house _twice_. I was looking forward to seeing my families, though. I was so excited that for once I could one up my cousin Stephanie when she started going on about her newest boyfriend.

I was much more relaxed now than I had been at Thanksgiving. It was only my family, with no future in-laws to impress. I heard the doorbell ring and made my way downstairs to get it.

"Hi. Tia Anna." I kissed my aunt's cheek. "Tio Jose." I hugged my uncle. "Steph." I greeted.

"Mitchie!" My cousin said happily. "We _so_ need to talk later. I have to tell you all about Cal." I inwardly rolled me eyes, but responded enthusiastically anyway.

Before I was able to close the door, my other aunt and uncle showed up. "Tia Nene. Uncle John." Calling my Uncle John uncle in Spanish was weird. He was whiter than white out.

"Mitchie!" They hugged me. I had always been their favorite.

Finally my uncle Matt, my grandparents, and my other cousins showed up. Everyone was enjoying dinner so far.

My cousin turned to me, excitedly. The adults weren't paying us any attention, so she felt it safe to talk to me about her newest boyfriend. "He's _so_ hott." She practically swooned. "He's captain of the swim team for our rival school." I rolled me eyes. She was such a drama queen.

"Nice. Swimmer's body." I commented.

She kept going on and on. I didn't feel like interrupting her yet. "He's _almost_ perfect." She said dreamily.

"Almost?" I couldn't help asking.

She made a slight face though still smiling. "He has the thing with pet names. He calls me the most unique ones I've ever heard."

I was curious. Shane only ever called me 'baby' occasionally. We weren't into the whole pet name thing too much. "Like what?"

"Well. We were like… _doing it_, and I was on his lap, and he called me his 'little lap dog' and wanted to hear me bark."

We both laughed harder than expected at that. My left hand flew to cover my mouth to keep the food from coming out.

"Oh wow." Steph said calming down immediately and grabbing my hand, examining Shane's ring. "Where did you get _this_?" This seemed to get everyone's attention.

"Oh." I said awkwardly. "My boyfriend." I tried to say it indifferently, like it _wasn't_ a big deal.

"_You_ have a boyfriend?" Stephanie asked shocked.

Slightly insulted, I answered. "Yeah."

"And he gave you _that_?"

"Yeah." I was getting annoyed.

"Wow. You landed a rich one, huh?"

Suddenly something went off in my uncle's head. "Oh! The famous boy your father was complaining about a few months ago? The one from that Connect the Dots or something."

"Connect 3?" Stephanie gasped. "You're dating someone from _Connect 3_?"

I shrugged. "They _are_ people, Steph."

Mom decided to help me a little. "They're all lovely boys. They're here a lot, too. Mitchie's friend moved in with us back in September and they helped Steve set up Mitchie's room for Caitlyn and bring in all of her stuff."

"They grow on you." Dad added. "Especially Jason. He's an idiot sometimes, but he has a good heart."

"Oh," Mom said picking up again. "Like the beautiful charm bracelets he bought Mitchie and Caitlyn."

"This?" Steph asked examining my bracelet. "It is pretty." I could tell she was jealous.

"Shane spoils her, though." Dad interjected.

I blushed, not wanting to be the center of attention. "Shane? As in _Shane Grey?_ You're dating Shane Grey and you didn't tell me?!" Steph shrieked.

"It's not _that_ big a deal, Steph. You were telling me about Cal. I was going to tell you about him when you were done."

"You actually let her date that asshole?" My cousin Jason asked.

"_Jason Christian._" Abuela scolded him.

"Well, he is. Did you hear the latest scandal? About him beating up his manager?"

I was quick to defend Shane. "Chris is a jerk. He hates Caitlyn and me, and always acts like a jerk to us. It pisses Shane and Nate off to no end. Shane was just defending me after Chris said something about me."

"One hit is defending your honor, cous. 3 is a bit much. He probably wouldn't have stopped if the other two didn't stop him. He's a violent spoiled pop star."

"You don't know that." I retorted angrily.

"Where is he tonight, huh? Couldn't come meet the family? We not good enough?" Now he was just pushing me.

"No. He couldn't. He's home, with his family, who were kind enough to come here for Thanksgiving. You're lucky I'm here. I could've gone with him, but I wanted to be _here_, with _my_ family." I replied. I saw him open his mouth to keep going. "And my relationship is _not_ up for discuss. He and I have been through enough drama with people not wanting us to be together, and we've had it. I have my parents permission, and that's all I need. You _can_ not accept it, I don't care." I said pointedly before shoving more mashed potatoes into my mouth.

My family was stunned. They'd never seen me with such a back bone before. I saw my parents attempting to cover their smiles. I could tell they were proud of me for standing up to Jason and not letting him get to me like Nicky did.

Mom wanted to restore Shane's glory, so she started talking about Camp Rock. "Shane actually spent the whole time they were at Camp Rock trying to find Mitchie because he heard her singing and didn't catch her in time to see who she was. Even though he and Mitchie became friends he didn't realize she was the girl her was looking for until the last performance when she sang the song he heard."

"Awe. That's so cute." Steph gushed. I sighed in relief. At least someone was supportive.

"He interrupted my song and sang the song he wrote because of me. It's _our_ song. We got into a fight before he left to shoot a music video, and he showed up at my school and sang it to me again when he got back."

"Wow. He's like, so sweet." She cooed.

"Yup." I smiled happily.

"They just recorded their duet, too, for the band's album." Dad said.

I blushed, "Dad." I groaned in embarrassment.

"That's amazing, Mitchie!" My aunts and uncles congratulated me and such.

At some point Shane had text me, asking how dinner was going after complaining about his own. His family was scolding him for not bringing the 'miracle worker' home with him. I text him back the truth. Minor drama, but everything is fine.

_I love you and miss you, so much right now baby._ I smiled at his reply. I sent him something similar, and looked up from my phone just in time to see my aunts looking at me adoringly. Steph told me later that I had the biggest smile in the world on my face.

Christmas dinner with the Torres' was hectic enough that I was _not_ looking forward to dinner with mom's family. However, Christmas morning I was pretty excited to get my presents.

I laughed as I opened a huge box with every single piece of Connect 3 paraphernalia in existence. Dad thought it'd be funny. He even got a life size cut out of the guys which was hiding behind the tree. That was _so_ going in my room when the guys went on tour. We agreed to hide it in the basement until then or they guys might have gotten jealous or creeped out.

Mom thankfully bought the rest of my gifts including some new clothes, a new pair of earrings, a new guitar case, and some other miscellaneous stuff. When I thought we were done, I stood up to stretch.

"Where are you going?" Dad asked. "You've got one more present." They handed me short rectangular box. Nervously, I opened it, unsure of what to expect. I almost screamed when I saw what was in it.

First class ticket for December 26 from Newark to Boston. My parents were letting me go see Shane. "Oh my god, really?"

"Yes. Shane asked if you could come out after the holiday until school starts back up." Dad said.

"He wants his brother and sister to like you. He thinks maybe under more casual settings they might understand your relationship better." Mom added.

"Thank you, Mom, Dad." I hugged them tightly. "He and I talked about it, but we opted not to ask. I didn't think you'd let me go and we didn't want to cause any problems."

"We know, Mitchie." Mom smiled at me. "Shane told us. He wanted us to surprise you _if_ we decided to let you come."

I smiled happily. "He is amazing." I sighed sinking into the couch.

"He loves you. We can see that." Dad relented. "After the disaster that was Thanksgiving, he's really proven that to everyone."

"He has, hasn't he?" My parents just nodded.

Mom pushed me off the couch. "Go call him. Let him know your coming." I didn't need to be told twice, and took off up the stairs.

I idly paced my room waiting for him to pick up. He didn't answer the first time I called, and I decided against calling him back again, so I left a voicemail. "Hey, it's me. I guess you're either still asleep or with your family. But I have something to tell you, _so_ call me back later. Love you." I hung up, tossing my phone onto my bed as I fell back on my bed. My phone beeped telling me I had a message.

_Hey. What's up? I'm at brunch with the family, right now._ I told him to just call me later. I didn't intend to come off mad or upset, because I wasn't. But apparently, I did.

_What's wrong, Mitch?_ I laughed. He was always so concerned about me. I threw in an lol and told him nothing was _wrong_ and that I'd tell him what was up when he called me later and to enjoy breakfast. That didn't seem to convince him as a moment later my phone was ringing.

"Shane." I laughed at him. "Nothing is _wrong_. I promise. Go enjoy breakfast or brunch, whatever it is."

I heard him sigh. "Are you sure nothing's up?"

"I told you I'd tell you _later_ when you called."

"Well, it's later." He retorted. "Just tell me now or it's going to drive me insane. Besides, they think I'm going to the bathroom."

"Alright, alright." I caved. "Myparentsarelettingmecomeseeyou!" I spoke so quickly and excitedly he didn't catch what I'd said. "My parents are letting me come see you." I said slower. I heard him let out a excited exclamation.

"Thank god." He sighed when he calmed down. "I miss you."

"Oh, please." I smiled and I knew he could hear it in my voice. "A. it's only been 4 days since you last saw me and B. you miss me after 5 minutes." I heard him chuckle.

"True." He agreed. Then his voice dropped into low growl almost, something I'd never heard before, especially from him. "'Cept the last time I saw you, I had you underneath me moaning." I bit my lip. I was hoping he'd never mention that. I enjoyed our make out session a little _too_ much that night.

"_Shane_." I laughed embarrassedly.

His voice return mostly to normal, but there was still an edge to it. "Sorry. I've had that stuck in my head since that night." I heard him groan. "I need to get back. I'll call you later, kay?"

I nodded then shook my head at my own stupidity. "Yeah. Love you."

"I love you, too." I hung up first, knowing he wouldn't. I held my phone to my chest and smiled happily. I got dressed and went down stairs to help my mother clean up and cook what needed to be cooked.

There were less in Mom's family, so the cooking was easier. That night, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and lone cousin came over.

"Constance. Stephen." My grandmother cooed hugging them. "Michaela." She looked at me with her appraising eyes. She could be really sweet at times, but sometimes she was a little too critical of us. My aunt and uncle were a lot wealthier than us.

"What are these?" She took in my locket, my bracelet, and my ring. "I hope you didn't waste _your_ money on these things." She directed to my parents.

"No, we-" Grandma turned to me instead of letting Mom finish.

"Constance, how could you let her waste her _own_ money on such things?"

"They didn't." I interjected. Wrongly.

Condescendingly, she asked, "So, you just bought them yourself without their permission?"

"No, grandma." I said politely. "My boyfriend and his friend bought them for me."

"Oh? He needed a friend to help him pay for them?" My grandmother was trying my patience.

"No, grandma." I paused. "My boyfriend is very well off. He bought me the ring and the locket. Our friend bought myself and my best friend Caitlyn matching charm bracelets."

"Why on earth would he do that?" She seemed appalled at the thought.

"We're all very close. Caitlyn and I date his two best friends. We've become like sisters to him. He wanted to show us we weren't just his friend's girlfriends. That we were important to him."

"That seems like a pointless reason." She surmised, dismissing the conversation. "Now why is your boyfriend buying you a ring, young lady? You're only 16."

"It's a promise ring, mother." Mom interjected. "Shane bought it for her to show her how serious he is about their relationship."

"She's 16. There's no need to be _serious_ in today's world." My aunt argued snottily.

I took a deep breath before responding. "My boyfriend is in a band. They're pretty popular. His sister thought I was just using him for my music career and we got into a huge fight over everyone's negativity toward our relationship. He gave me the ring 3 weeks later to prove to me he's serious about our relationship and that we both needed to stop letting other people's opinions affect us."

"Wait, you aren't dating that Shane Blue or whatever his name is, are you? The one that just punched out his manager?" My cousin chose now to join the conversation. I glared at him.

"_Grey_." I corrected. "And yes, I am. He was defending me against his manager who was a jerk and a creep."

My parents were quick to change the subject this time. Dinner was mostly in silence until everyone left. I collapsed against the door as they all left.

"That was horrible." I moaned.

Mom rubbed my shoulders soothingly. "I know, honey." She looked upstairs. "Why don't you go call Shane and get packed? You have an early flight in the morning." I nodded heading up the stairs.

I paused. "Could you imagine if I told Grandma I was going up to see him?" My mother looked horrified for a moment.

"I think your aunt's head would have spun off." She laughed.

"Why can't she be _your sister-in-law_?" I argued.

"Because you like her more than I do. How about your uncle's wife?"

"How about your brother's wife?"

"Fine. I'll take it." She laughed at me. "Go." She pointed up the stairs while heading into the kitchen.

I smiled looking at my phone once I reached my room. I knew better than to bring it to dinner. My grandmother would have had a fit if she saw me texting during dinner. I had 7 missed calls. 5 were from Shane, 1 was from Caitlyn, and 1 was from Jason. I also had 2 voice mails.

"_Hey, Mitch, it's me. Shane. I told you I'd call you back, but I guess you're at dinner. I'll try again later." _He always sounded so unsure. It was cute.

"_Mitchie! Hey! It's Caitlyn. I have so much to tell you! Call me back when you can!"_ Caitlyn had gone to Nate's hometown out in Pennsylvania. Her parents were staying there as well. I smiled, glad that someone's family was happy about their relationship.

Did I mention the 15 texts I had? All from my darling boyfriend. Laughing happily, I called him back.

"Hey!" He answered on the first ring. "How are you?" He asked.

"Been better. My grandmother likes to compare my mom to her brother, and I get caught in between. I got lectured for _wasting my money_ on my jewelry before I was able to explain they were gifts. Then I got lectured for being _serious with a boy at my age_. I opted to not share my travel plans."

"Awe, I'm sorry to hear that. You can't catch a break can you?" He sighed.

"Eh." I laughed. "How bout you? How's your holiday been?"

"My sister was in a better mood. She even brought her boyfriend to brunch, surprisingly."

"Did you play nice?" I asked. He hadn't been to happy when he'd first heard about the guy from Kevin.

"Yes," He answered after a moment.

"Shane." I warned.

"I only threatened him once. After that I was the cool older brother. I swear."

I laughed at him. "Good. I want everything to run smoothly when I'm up there."

"I can't wait." He whispered softly. "I want to hold you so bad."

"You are such a sap, my love." I giggled.

He laughed back. "You know you love it."

"I do. I do." I relented. There was no use arguing over it.

Changing the subject he inquired, "Did you pack yet?"

"I was attempting to…" I admitted.

"Well, bring warm clothes. It's pretty cold up here. Or you could wear not so warm clothes and then I'd be obligated to keep you warm at all times…" He suggested.

"I'm gonna go call Caitlyn, now." I said. "Love you."

I heard him laugh while saying "I love you, too."

He amazes me sometimes. I called Caitlyn back and listened to her vent about everything while I asked about what clothes to bring. I fell asleep not too much later, anxiously awaiting the morning.

* * *

Hmmm... what awaits them in Massachutes?


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, so to address the whole, Shane's siblings thing: Nate and Jason _weren't_ his brothers in the movie. Nate says 'your Uncle Brown.' Brown addresses Shane as 'his nephew the pop star' all the time, but Connect 3 as the 'rest of Connect 3'. Jason says 'It's where Connect 3, _connected_.' implying they met there. Okay. I'm done. Thanks. Oh! And Shane's siblings names _are_ because of the Jonas brothers, but the characters aren't based off of them. And I honestly have no idea if Joe straightens his hair or not, but in my story he does.

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Chapter 9

I woke up extremely early and ran to the shower. There was _no way_ I wasn't looking my best for Shane later on. An hour and a half later I was waiting to board my plane. I ended up sitting next to an adorable 6 year old little girl.

"Hi." She said smiling at me.

"Hi." I said smiling back. "Who are you?" I asked.

She looked around carefully. "I'm not supposed to tell strangers that." I laughed, knowing it was probably very true that she couldn't even tell me her first name. We _were_ in first class. She was probably someone's daughter. Someone _important_. Of course she's _someone's_ daughter.

"Well, I'm Mitchie." I told her. "What are you listening to?" I asked seeing the CD player in her lap.

"Connect 3!" She clapped happily.

"I happen to love Connect 3." I replied. "Do you have a favorite song?"

"I like the one that's on the radio! But it's not on their CD." She seemed to be pouting.

I pulled out my mp3 player and gave her one of the ear buds. "Here." I said, pressing play. She smiled up at me, dancing in her seat. I laughed, content to watch her. When the song finished, This Is Me came on. I wasn't paying attention until she grabbed my hand.

"Who's singing?" She asked.

I went to change the song, "Oh! Sorry-"

"No! No. I like it. Don't change it!" She said stopping my hand from doing so. "Oh! Is that Connect 3, too?"

"Yes, it is." I smiled at her. "I sang that with Shane, the lead singer."

"Really? Lucky." She made it seem like it was the greatest thing in the world. I guess to a six year old, singing with a famous pop star _was_ the greatest thing. "Are you in love?" She asked so innocently.

"What makes you ask that?" I was shocked.

"Well, it seems like it." She tilted her head to the side. "And you're smiling a lot. Mommy smiles like that around Daddy."

I laughed. "We are in love." I told her.

She threw me off guard when she said, "I'm Madison."

"I thought you weren't supposed to tell strangers that?" I smiled at her.

"Well, you aren't much a stranger anymore. Your name is Mitchie, and you love Shane. And you can sing. I know at least 3 things about you. And, you don't have a camera." I laughed at her.

"You are adorable."

"Thank you." She smiled before continuing to listen to my mp3 player.

She and I talked every now and then, before the plane eventually landed.

"Mitchie, you have to meet Mommy!" She said pulling on my hand as the stewardess lead her down the plane.

"Miss Madison." The stewardess scolded.

"Please?" She begged.

I smiled. Shane could wait a few minutes. "Of course."

Madison pulled me to her mother who happened to being waiting in an exclusive section of the airport. A guy I assumed was Madison's father was standing there as well as a few limo drivers.

"Mommy! Mommy!" She ran over to her, pulling on her sleeve. Her mother picked her up quickly.

"Oh, Maddie!" She hugged her daughter tightly. "I hate when you fly alone."

"I wasn't!" Madison smiled. "Mommy, this is Mitchie! She let me listen to her music and I got to hear my favorite Connect 3 song cause she had it and I heard her singing, too. She knows Connect 3, too!" Her mother laughed placing her daughter back on the ground.

"Really?" Who I had assumed was Madison's father questioned. "Do you, Mitchie?" I hadn't really paid him much attention and he looked very amused when I did.

"Shane!" I hugged him happily. "I thought you were going to wait in the limo?"

He shrugged. "Changed my mind. I saw Melanie get out of her limo. We hadn't talked in a really long time." I finally realized Melanie was Melanie White, one of the biggest names on Broadway.

"Wow." I said, surprised.

"Thank you, Mitchie for entertaining her. She hates the stewardesses. And from what Shane's told me, you're a good person. I'm sure I'll be hearing about you for days, now." Melanie thanked me before turning to Madison. "Say good-bye, honey." Madison pouted but came over to me anyway. I squatted down to her level and gave her a hug.

"Bye, Mitchie!"

"Bye, Madison!"

"Bye, Shane." She waved as Melanie dragged her away.

"So." He turned to me. "She heard you sing?"

I looked down. "Well, she was listening to your CD, and I asked what her favorite song was. She said the one on the radio, but it wasn't on her CD, so I let her listen to it. Then This Is Me played next."

"You are too good." He smiled, taking my hand and leading me to get my luggage.

40 minutes later we arrived at Shane's family's house. It was definitely bigger than mine, but it wasn't extravagant. It was comfortable.

"Brown's here?" I asked seeing a truck with Camp Rock painted on the side.

Shane laughed. "Yeah, Uncle Brown wanted to see you so he stayed an extra day or two."

"Aw." I said climbing out with Shane. "I missed Brown." Shane just laughed. As we entered the house a heard an excited 'Mitchie.' A moment later I was engulfed in a hug by Brown.

"Hey, Brown!" I said happily.

"Hello, love." He lead us into the kitchen where Mrs. Grey was making tea. "How was your flight?"

After greeting Mrs. Grey, I answered, "I met this adorable little girl. It was good."

"How were your holidays, sweetie?" Mrs. Grey asked.

"They could've been better." I answered honestly. "Certain family members are more opinionated than they should be. But my parents redeemed my holiday."

"Well, I'm sorry your family was less than civil. However, I am _ecstatic_ to have you here." She hugged my side tightly. I smiled at her.

"The twins are in their rooms, most likely." Shane said leading me upstairs. "But first," he entered what I assumed was his room. The sign on the door saying _Shane_ didn't really give it away much. I watched in amusement as he put my bag on his bed and turned to me excitedly.

"Am I staying in here?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm going to sleep on the couch until Brown leaves. Right now, he's in the guest room."

"Oh, Shane, I can sleep on the couch. You shouldn't have to give up your bed." I protested.

He shook his head, kissing me lightly. "Stop. Take my bed. It's fine." I kissed him back, not really caring where we were. He leaned me against his door frame, kissing me for a few minutes before someone cleared their throat. We broke apart and I blushed deeply.

"Nicky." Shane greeted, hugging his sister. "You remember Mitchie, right?"

"Hi." I said awkwardly staring at my shoes.

"Hey." She replied equally uncomfortable.

"Kev in his room?" I heard Shane ask. Nicky must have nodded or something because he pulled me down the hall toward Kevin's room. My greeting from him was much like our first introduction, but less unfriendly. He seemed generally shy and not distrusting.

Shane and I spent some time talking to Kevin and Nicky about random stuff. I yawned absently. "You tired, Mitch?" Shane asked rubbing my knee, a habit he seemed to have developed when we were around other people.

"Yeah. I've been up the last couple days cooking and cleaning. I didn't get as much sleep as I would've liked last night." I sighed, not wanting to sound like I was complaining.

He stood up, pulling me with him. "C'mon. Why don't you go take a nap?" Before I could argue, he dragged me too his room. "Seriously, take a nap, Mitch. You look exhausted. I'll wake you up for dinner if you don't wake up by then."

"I'm supposed to be spending time with you and your family, Shane, not sleeping." I argued weakly as he pushed me onto his bed.

"You can later. Take a nap." He kissed my forehead, and then left me on his bed, closing the door quickly. I gave in and fell asleep, wrapped up in the amazing scent that is Shane.

I woke up a while later to the feeling of someone tracing the side of my face with their finger. As I began to stir, the finger stopped before they cupped my face. "Shane?" I whispered as my eyes fluttered open attempting to focus on him

"Hey." He smiled. "You sleep alright?"

I nodded, sitting up next to him. "Yeah." I was holding myself up by leaning back on my arms, fairly close to him. He kissed me softly. "Hi." I smiled when he pulled back.

"Come on." He stood up, reaching for my hands. "Dinner time." After I checked my hair to make sure it was still flat, we headed downstairs hand in hand.

Everyone was seated around the dining room table. I was seated between Shane and Brown. Nicky's boyfriend was there as well, though he didn't say much after 'hi' the whole night.

"Did you enjoy your nap, Mitchie?" Nicky asked politely. It seemed she was trying to be civil.

I nodded. "Yes, I did. I hadn't realized how tired I really was."

Kevin laughed. "That and Shane's bed is like amazingly comfortable. Even if your _not_ tired you pass out."

Shane looked across the table. "And _how_ would you know that?" Kevin looked away from the table attempting to look innocent. "I am _so_ locking my door when I leave." The table laughed and most of the tension in the room seemed to ease.

"How's Caitlyn doing?" Brown asked me a little while later.

I smiled. "She's doing great. Nate's family loves her. His cousins were apparently all jealous of them."

"That's good. Families can be tough at first." He smiled, winking at both Nicky and I. "You just have to get to know them."

I laughed. "Yeah." We agreed.

"Oh! Before I go," Brown declared. "You must sing one of your songs for me."

I blushed. "Why?"

"You've an amazing voice. And I may not get to hear it for a while."

I looked at him, carefully broaching the subject Shane and I had discussed. "Won't you hear it this summer? Or am I not allowed to come back?" I teased.

"I don't think _anyone_ is coming back." He said sadly. "I've been trying to find a way to keep the tuition low if not lower and it's not working. I don't think they'll be too many able to afford it."

I sighed. I felt Shane grab my hand tightly. "You can't get sponsors?" I asked, trying to help.

"Maybe, but most people are more worried about funding academic programs or charities." I felt bad seeing Brown so dejected.

"Well, I will definitely sing for you. Any song you want." I smiled trying to lighten the mood again.

"I'm holdin' you to that." He said pointing a fork at me.

That night I sang Who Will I Be for Brown. Then Mrs. Grey demanded an encore and forced Shane and I to sing the duet. I saw Nicky's mouth dropped when Shane and I sang together. We seem to have that effect on people.

After, Shane and I were sitting on his bed talking. "Gotta love Uncle Brown." He said shaking his head. "He wanted you to sing so Nicky could hear it."

I nodded, figuring as much. "I feel awful about Camp Rock." I sighed, thinking of Brown.

"Mitch, there isn't anything we can do." He shook his head in defeat. "Even with extra funding to bring down the cost, there still won't be as many kids as there should be."

"I know. It's just… look what Camp Rock has done for you, Nate, and Jason. And me. And Caitlyn. And Peggy. Even Lava. Remember what Milo said? They love Camp Rock kids." A light switch went off in my head. "Oh! Shane!" I said excitedly.

He thought for a moment. "Oh, Mitch! You're a genius!" He sobered after a moment. "Let's not tell Brown, though, and not get our hopes up, okay?" I nodded before yawning. "Still tired?" He asked sweetly. I nodded again. I smiled. "There's a bathroom in there if you want to take a shower. I'll go use the main bathroom." He kissed my forehead again and left, grabbing clothes on his way out. I giggled at him a little. He makes me giggle _way_ too much.

I had showered and gotten dressed by the time Shane came back. Except, I was only in a cami and my pajama pants. I hate sleeping in a bra, but can't sleep in just a thermal. I hadn't grabbed my shirt when I went into the bathroom and was looking for it when Shane knocked on the door, cracking it open.

"Mitch?" He called in, not coming in yet.

"Hey." I said, letting him know it was safe to come in. As I took in the sight before me I completely forgot my search. Shane was standing in his own pajama pants, hair dripping wet and bare-chested.

"I forgot to grab a shirt." He said moving to his dresser. "I usually don't sleep with them, but I think Mom would flip if I didn't tonight."

I laughed. "Probably."

Shirt now on, he came over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I slid my hands up his chest to lock around his neck. "I should let you get to sleep." He said leaning his head against mine. I nodded, not in the mood to speak. He kissed me softly, pulling back as a soft knock came from the doorframe. Shane's parents stood their watching us with matching smiles.

"I'm just saying good-night." He said to his parents. "Night. Love you." He whispered, kissing my forehead again. As he made to leave his room, his father stopped him.

"Well, I think we can trust the two of you to _not_ doing anything other than sleep." Shane and I looked at him confused. "If you want, you can both sleep in here." He reiterated.

"Really?" Shane seemed genuinely surprised. "You'd be okay with that?"

Mrs. Grey nodded. "We trust you, Shane. Just don't make us regret this." She warned before closing the door.

Shane was instantly in front of my again, holding me. "Wow. They must _really_ like you." I smiled.

"Come on, sleep." I moved toward the bed, climbing in. "Do you care which side you sleep on?" He shook his head no as he turned off the light and climbed in with me.

We laid on our sides facing each other. "Really gotta love Uncle Brown." He laughed.

"What?" I asked confused.

He explained, "Brown felt bad that I had to sleep on the couch. I told him the only person I would share a bed with was you, and my parents would never go for it. Only solution was the couch. I'm guessing he talked to my parents." Brown was officially one of my favorite people in the world at that point.

Shane shifted a bit. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I really hate sleeping in shirts. Even undershirts." He pouted.

I laughed. "So don't." He gave me a odd look. "What? It's not like I haven't seen it before." I reminded him. He laughed, sitting up and pulling the shirt over his head. I was mesmerized by the muscles I watched moving. At least I was until his hair sprayed me. "Ugh! Your hair is still soaking wet!" I complained.

With my attention drawn to his hair I noticed the way it was curling. "I've never seen your hair _not_ straight." I said playing with a lock as he laid back down.

"I _hate_ my hair not straight." He dropped his head against my chest. I realized then that I never found my shirt. Shane didn't seemed phased though, and lifted his head. "I usually straighten it as soon as I get out of the shower, even at night." He explained. "Figured it was pointless tonight since it was going to get messed up from all the tossing and turning."

Confused, I asked, "But doesn't it get curly when you go in a pool or sweat too much or something?"

He laughed. "There is _so_ much product in my hair it doesn't. The only time my hair curls is after I wash it."

"You are such a girl." I teased.

He shrugged. "Wait until you hear Nate some mornings. Total friz head. One of the few times the guy curses."

"Well," I said running my fingers through the damp curls. "I like it." I decided.

"Is that you telling me to let my hair be curly more often?" He asked.

I shook my head no. "Just times like now. When its intimate, just you and me." I clarified.

He laughed. "Only you would think of my hair being curly as something intimate." He kissed me. "But I guess it kind of is. Something personal that only my family and the guys have ever seen."

"See. And you mocked me." I smirked in triumph. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to change your signature look. The curls are Nate's thing." I drifted off into thought while Shane played with my hair.

"Whatcha think' 'bout, Mitch?" He whispered breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I blushed. "Oh, nothing." He simply gave a look that said tell me or else. "Fine, I was…" I mumbled my answer. He gave me another look. "It's stupid. Fine, I was thinking about what kind of hair our kids would have, since yours is so curly naturally and mine is pin straight naturally." I watched as his face changed slightly.

"Really?" He was smiling. "That's what you were thinking about?"

I nodded. "It's stupid, and I should _not_ be thinking about things like that. I'm sorry."

He laughed. "It's fine, Mitch. It's not like your planning anything. You're just thinking. If you can't imagine the future it's heard to believe things can work out how you want. I can see our future, or how I hope our future is. That's why I have so much faith in us. I think we can last." I kissed him in reply. He always seems to know exactly what to say to me. "And for the record, I _hope_ they have your hair." He shook his head. "I don't wish my hair on anyone."

I giggled. "Awe, I want a little curly haired baby." I pouted playfully. "Guess I'll have to steal Nate or Caitlyn's kid."

"More like Nate _and_ Caitlyn's kid." He corrected. "He's getting in pretty deep with her."

"I know. She is, too. I think that's why they've become like, our biggest supporters." I sighed. "They understand a lot better now."

"Well, the world is going to understand in 3 weeks." Shane said. At the look I gave him, he explained. "The duet gets released. Everyone who hears us sing together seems to suddenly understand how we feel about one another. It's startin' to weird me out a bit." He laughed.

"Mmm." I said beginning to fall asleep. As I snuggled into his chest, he placed his chin on top of my head. With his arms wrapped around me I drifted off to sleep. 'I could get used to this.' was my last coherent thought.

* * *

So... this offically has 27,000+ words in total of just story. :D yay me.


	10. Chapter 10

3, 715 words. Happy? Longest chapter yet. It's 4 in the morning and I should totally be sleeping right now and I'm not because I couldn't sleep and _not_ finish this chapter once I started. I hope you enjoy and I don't let you down with my sleepiness. I'd forgotten what I'd written by the time I was doing revisions. Forgive me if there are mistakes!

* * *

Chapter 10

I snuggled deeper into my pillow only to find it was pretty hard. Peeking open an eye, I saw I was laying on Shane's chest. At some point he rolled over onto his back and took me with him so I ended up half laying on him.

Then I realized why I was awake. From behind the door I could hear Nicky and Kevin arguing. "You wake them up." Kevin said.

"You wake them up." Nicky retorted.

"I'm not going in there." Kevin insisted.

"I so do _not_ want to risk seeing my brother naked. What do you care? If they _are_ you see a naked girl, and it's not like you haven't seen Shane naked before, Kev."

"Okay, that was one time at the pool, and I never want to again. That was horrifying."

I laughed at the twins quietly. I nudged sleepy beauty and felt him stir. "What, Mitch?" He mumbled.

"Your brother and sister are arguing over who is going to wake us up. Neither of them have thought to just knock." Shane sighed before lifting me off of him. He grabbed his shirt off the floor from the night before and headed to the door.

When he tore it open, he scared the fully dressed twins. "What?" He said fairly cranky.

"Mom and Dad told us to wake you guys up cause it's almost 12:00." Nicky said.

"And that required you to bicker in front of my door?" He asked.

"Well, we didn't know if you guys… ya know." Kevin said shifting his wait from foot to foot.

Shane groaned. "All we did was _sleep_. Damn." He was really cranky. "Besides, do you really think we would've still been naked if we did?" He whispered to them. "I'm not as stupid as you all seem to think."

"But we didn't!" I called from my comfy place in his bed, still. "Promise!" I heard Nicky laugh.

"Alright, you guys should get up anyway." She said dragging her brother down the hall. Shane closed the door and walked to the end of his bed. I was sitting up near the top as he kneeled down on it at my feet.

"Shane?" I asked confused. He smiled at me as he pulled me toward him. We stayed in his bed making out for another 20 minutes before we opted to actually get up. I went in the bathroom to get dressed while Shane changed in his room. I heard the door close and assumed he went to the other bathroom or something. He _did_ need to straighten his hair.

I sighed realizing I had once again forgotten my shirt. Thinking he wasn't in the room, I walked out of the bathroom and stopped short seeing him sitting on his bed waiting for me.

His eyes seemed to slowly drag up my body, mesmerized. When our eyes locked, I ran back into the bathroom and closed the door. A moment later, he was knocking on the door.

"Mitchie, baby, you okay?" He asked. "What the hell just happened?"

"I heard the door! I thought you went to straighten your hair… and I forgot my shirt."

There was a pause before he spoke again. "You mean this green one on the floor?" I sighed in relief. I knew I had grabbed it. I must have dropped it.

"Yeah." I said, cracking the door open. "Can I have it, please?" I said peeking out, letting the door hide me.

He pouted. "But I like what you're already wearing." He handed me my shirt anyway. When I came out again I wouldn't look at him and wasn't saying anything. "Mitchie." He said grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around to face him. "Relax, okay?"

"Shane, you don't get it, do you? You just saw me in my bra-"

He thought it wise to interrupt me. "A very pretty bra. It was green. I love green." I glared at him as I kept speaking.

"That's so not the point. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I am right now?"

He sighed and cupped my face. "It's not much different than what you wore to bed last nigh. So I saw your stomach, oh no!" He mocked me slightly. "If it's bothering you that much, I won't mention it again, okay?" I nodded and he hugged me. I buried my face into his neck, still embarrassed. "Hey, on the bright side, at least you forgot your shirt and not your bra. Otherwise you wouldn't have had anything on." I hit him in the arm but laughed, knowing he was right.

After our awkward start to the day, I helped Shane straighten his hair. It was fun. He had been going to straighten his hair when he remembered all of his hair stuff was in his bathroom. I teased him and called him a girl again. Once we were good to go, we decided to go out to lunch. That was a mistake. We'd never been in public together other than at my school or the one time we went to lunch with Caitlyn in the city. But no one bothered us then. This time, well this time we weren't so lucky.

"I wish I had driven up." Shane complained as he parked his mom's jeep in the parking lot. "I miss my Mustang."

I sighed. "Cry baby." I laughed at him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street.

"Come on. I love this place." He took me to a local Mexican restaurant that most of the teens in the area went to. I guess when you date a normal, average girl, you forget you're a celebrity. I must have brought him too far down out of the clouds.

As soon as we walked in, the restaurant's volume dropped a bit. No one said anything or screamed out his name like I had been expecting though.

However, our waitress started flirting with him, ignoring me. Wait, _no_, she just glared at me. Then a bunch of girls came over and asked for his autograph. He sighed but signed the things anyway. He could tell I was getting annoyed. He grabbed my hand over the table and smiled apologetically. We waited for our food when a flash went off.

"What the hell?" Shane asked, looking for the camera. Looking around he couldn't find it, but he saw more reporters outside. He grabbed our waitress as she headed back to get our order. "Excuse me, can you make that to go?" He asked sweetly. I glared at him a little. "I'm sorry. Being home I forget that I'm a celebrity. I just… wanted to take you on a real _date_. We haven't had one." He shrugged disappointed. I squeezed his hand.

"I'm sorry. You're right. We haven't. I appreciate the attempt. But who said we had to go out in public for a date?" I asked smiling at him. He grabbed the containers from the waitress and handed her more than enough to cover the bill.

As we moved to leave, the reporters outside seemed to go into a frenzy. "Shane!" They called out hoping to catch his attention and get a good shot of us. Shane blocked me from them mostly. We knew the one inside had gotten a good shot, though. "Is she the mysterious girlfriend we've heard about?" One reporter called out.

I felt surprisingly confident. "Yes!" I yelled over his shoulder, hearing him laugh at me as they got even more excited and continued to ask questions while we took off down the street.

Once we got in the car and away from them, he pulled over. He started laughing. "You've no idea what you just did to them, do you?" I shrugged. "They have one picture of you and now they are going to try their damnedest to find out who you are. They've been hounding our press manager ever since the Chris incident."

"Oh well." I said smiling as I opened my food.

He looked at me oddly. "Are we seriously going to eat in the car on the side of the road?" I nodded taking a bite of my taco. I moaned in satisfaction. "Good?" He teased.

"Not as good as Mom & Dad's, but yeah. Abuela makes _the_ best Spanish food, though."

He gave me an inquisitive look. "It's weird hearing you say things in Spanish."

"Why?" I asked, confused. "Both my parents are Spanish."

"Yeah, I know. You can hear it in your mom's voice. But, not yours. I'm not saying it's a bad weird. It's just… different." He smiled. "A good different."

I laughed. "Bien."

We spent the rest of the day goofing off and doing random things around the house with Kevin and Nicky. Brown left that night, so we were surprised when his parents said we could still share his bed. I knew my parents would _freak_ if they knew about it, but I couldn't help. And we weren't doing anything, just sleeping.

The next morning, Nicky knocked on Shane's door and poked her head in. "Mitchie." She whispered to me. I looked up from Shane's bare-chest again, and blinked. "Get up. You and me are going shopping." I laughed and detangled myself from Shane as she closed the door.

"Mmm.. Come back here." Shane mumbled. I kissed him lightly and moved before he could pull me onto the bed with him.

"I'm going shopping with your sister." I said quietly.

He nodded and then told me to have fun. I laughed.

I met Nicky in the kitchen a few minutes later. It was still early, only 8 o'clock. We had to drive a bit to get to the mall, though. I shook my head when Nicky climbed into the car waiting for us. Shane got us a car so Mrs. Grey wouldn't be inconvenienced.

"I know Shane wants us to get along, and I can tell you and my brother are pretty serious. I really wanted you to know I'm sorry. I just miss my brother and when we do talk all he talks about is his music or you or your family. But I want to put all that behind us because you are the closest thing I'm getting to sister. I thought what a better way for us to bond than shopping!" Nicky explained.

"I didn't mean to take Shane away from you. If it helps, he talks a lot about you and Kevin. You should have seen him when Kevin told him about your boyfriend. He _flipped_. I was so anxious to meet the two of you and I was really afraid you'd hate me or something and that he'd second guess us."

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Apology accepted." I replied.

"So, girl to girl, sister to sister, friend to friend," She prompted. "He didn't have a shirt on yesterday when you guys woke up, did he?" She asked knowingly. I just blushed and didn't answer. "Ugh. And you expect us to believe you're _not_ having sex."

"Nicky!" I cried laughing.

We went into the first store and looked around. I was just browsing while Nicky was piling up her arms.

"You not finding anything, Mitch?" She asked.

"Oh, I didn't bring any money with me." I replied. She started chuckling.

"He didn't tell you?" I gave her a blank look. "When I told Shane last night that I wanted to take you shopping, he handed me his credit card and said have fun. When your older brother, or boyfriend, gives you his credit card and says have fun, that means shopping spree. _And_ in my case, don't buy anything I'd kill you for, and in your case that means I'd better see you in anything I'd kill my sister for."

I laughed. "He's too good to me." I said smiling happily.

"Just don't hurt him, okay?"

Sincerely I replied, "I don't plan on it. Promise." Taking in the stack of clothes she had, I saw something I knew wouldn't be Shane approved for her. "He'll kill me if you get this!"

"Oh!" She laughed like she was just remembering something. "That's for you to try on." My jaw dropped. "He said to find you a nice dress. That he's going to try the whole date thing again and he knows you didn't bring one."

I looked mortified as I was pushed into the dressing room with a handful of clothes. She wouldn't let me leave until I showed her the dress she had picked out. I shyly slipped it on, not used to wearing something so… revealing.

The dress was a red halter that was fit but not tight on the top and flowy at its high waist. The back cut fairly low, below my shoulder blades. There was no way I could wear a bra with this. It fell just past my knees. I would be _freezing_ if I went out in that dress.

"No." I protested opening the door for her to see.

She laughed and made me twirl. "What's wrong with it? And you know you can't wear a bra with that, right?" I glared at her.

"A. I can't wear a bra with it." I replied indignantly. "B. I'm going to freeze in this."

"So?" I glared at her again.

Finally, I smiled, thinking of the perfect reason. "It's not green. Shane loves green." My face faltered when shoved the exact same dress in green at me. "Are you serious?" I asked deadpan. "Why didn't you give the green one first?" I asked as I tried on the rest of the clothes she gave me.

I heard her laugh, and personally it was a little evil. "Because then I couldn't have squashed your last ditch effort. That and I could buy it without you refusing to hand me the red one."

I stuck my head out of the dressing room. "You thought that out _way_ too much." She just smiled innocent.

"Ooh, I like." She appraised. "Maroon's a good color for you." I rolled my eyes.

"What about you? Aren't you going to try anything on? I promise to let you get something that will make… what's his name's mouth water." I couldn't remember his name, and she didn't feel the need to fill in the blank.

"Nah. He thinks I'm amazing to begin with. I think I'm gonna break up with him soon anyway."

"Aw, why?" I asked as we headed to the cash register.

"I think he's hoping to get in good with my brother. Though he's doing a horrible job." She handed the cashier Shane's card. "Kevin hates him. He'd never put a good word in for him with the drama teacher." I laughed really hard, not expecting that.

"Excuse me, Miss? I have to deny your card." The cashier interrupted us.

"What?" I asked.

"I have reason to believe this card is stolen." She said primly.

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"What would two teenage girls be doing with _Shane Grey's_ black card?"

"Uhm, _maybe_," Nicky said, "_Shopping_. You're telling me I can't use my brothers credit card with his permission?"

"Your brother?" She asked disbelieving.

Nicky glared while pulling out a school ID and a photo of herself, Shane, and Kevin. "My brother." She replied snottily.

To the side of us, I heard a few rapid _clicking_ noises, but didn't think anything of it.

"Well, neither of you are Shane Grey, and therefore, cannot use the card." She replied.

"Can we just have the card back so we can go shop _elsewhere_?" I asked pissed off.

"No. The card can only be returned to its owner, so either Mr. Grey needs to retrieve it, _or_ I'll have to destroy the card." I glared at her as she smirked.

I pulled out my phone and angrily dialed Shane's number.

"Hey, baby." He answered.

"They took your card." I said still upset.

"WHAT?" Shane yelled. "What do you mean _they took my card_?"

"I mean," I said, "That they thought we stole it and then wouldn't let us use it, and now I can't buy my dress, your sister can't buy her new skirt, and you have to come get your card or they have to destroy it."

"How short is that skirt?" He inquired.

"Shane!" I scolded. "Not the time to play overprotective brother. And not that short."

"Fine." He sighed. "You are so lucky I already straightened my hair this morning." He mumbled.

"Love you."

"Love you, too." He said as I hung up.

I laughed at the hopeful look on Nicky's face. I nodded as I turned to the cashier. "Happy? Now you can fawn all over the pop star." I glared at her.

We continued to browse the store, now mad. We found a cute sweater for me to wear over the dress. We took it up to the cashier and told her to add it to the total.

After almost an hour of Nicky and I sitting in that store talking, we were getting bored. We played 20 questions for a long time and learned a lot about each other, but we were getting bored of the questions.

"Uhm, least favorite store?" She inquired. I glared at the cashier. She laughed. "I agree. Your turn." Before I could ask a question, we heard a lot of 'oh my gods' and 'I love yous', as well as cameras going off.

"Shane's here." We said together, standing up from the bench we were on in front of the store. We watched amused as Shane and Kevin pushed their way through the crowd, smiling politely and trying to move quickly.

"Girls, please, my sister and girlfriend are waiting for us. I'll be back out in a few minutes, I swear." He said trying to get away. Some of the girls backed off and let him move enough that he could through and drag Kevin.

He glared at us when he saw us. I pouted at him, kissing him lightly. "Sorry?" I said grimacing. He melted and kissed me back, though we both knew there were a lot of reporters around.

"Is this the store?" He asked nodding next to us. Nicky and I glared at the store. Shane plastered on his celebrity smile and made his way in, my hand firmly grasped in his. "Hi." He smiled at the cashier. "May I have my card, please?"

"I need proof you're _really_ Shane Grey." I rolled my eyes, but Shane pulled out his wallet. "Okay, here you go, Mr. Grey."

"Can you ring up their stuff again, please?" He was too good at pretending to be nice.

"Anything for you, Mr. Grey." I glared some more. "290.58"

I spun around to face Nicky. "How much was that dress?"

She shrugged. "Like a hundred something." I almost fainted. I'd never spent that much on one piece of clothing in my life.

"I'm so sorry, Shane, I had no idea how much the dress was, your sister refused to let me not get it-" He kissed me to shut me up.

"Mitch, relax." He smiled as he signed the receipt. "There's a reason _she_ had my card. I wanted you to get what you wanted."

"But I didn't want it, she made me." I argued softly. In reality, the dress had grown on me. It definitely looked better in green. And Nicky said she had the perfect shoes to match.

"I'm sure." He replied playfully. "Thank you." He said taking his card and the bag. "Let's go. I have screaming fans awaiting my return." Before we left the store completely, he pulled me aside and whispered in my ear. "Move your ring."

"What?" I looked at him confused.

"If the cashier saw your hand, she'll probably tell a tabloid we're engaged. If these reporters don't see your ring on that hand, they'll think she was wrong and let it go after a week or so." I nodded, having not even thought of that.

There were a lot of fans. A lot of reporters, too. "Is that your girlfriend, Shane?"

We laughed. "Yes." We said together.

"How long have you been together?" Another called out.

"A couple months," he answered.

Someone else called out, "Is she the reason you've changed?"

Shane stopped moving away from them, and faced me. "Yes, she is." He answered truthfully before dragging me away again.

"Shane, one more question!" We heard a few more times before we all managed to get outside. There were more reporters, but we dodged them easily, running to the car.

"What about the car?" Nicky asked clicking her seatbelt quickly.

"Here." He tossed her his phone. "Call them and tell them not to worry about picking you up." Shane managed to avoid most of the reporters following us and lost the last few when he got into his town.

"So," I asked collapsing on his bed. "Is that what dating a pop star is really like?" He laid next to on his side.

"Sometimes." He smiled kissing me. "Sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's better. Sometimes it's… relatively normal. Shockingly, the reporters are nicer than the fans most times. They know they can make a story out of a shot of us running away. Fans don't."

"Well, you better like that damn dress." I huffed. He laughed.

"I will." He played with my locker around my neck. "I saw green?" He asked hopeful.

"Yes, you did. I didn't think green was really your favorite color when I first heard Tess say it."

I saw him smile. "That explains the awesome green short outfits and the _interesting_ outfit Tess was wearing." I laughed. We definitely looked better than Tess that night. "You looked amazing." He whispered in my ear.

"I looked the same as Peggy and Ella." I brushed off his compliment.

"Yeah, but I wasn't looking at Peggy and Ella. Which reminds me. We're flying out to Arizona to record with Peggy there. She can't make it out here."

"Oh." I said disappointed. I had been hoping to see her. "How long will you be gone?"

"A few days." I nodded. "It'll be like nothing, I promise." He kissed my temple.

"So, why did was I told I had to get a dress?"

"Well, I was going to take you out on New Year's Eve… I figured there would be less people worried about what I'm doing then."

"Mmm. Sounds good." I said yawning. "Man, escaping paparazzi is tiring."

Laughing, he replied, "Get used to it. At least it keeps you in shape."

I just laughed knowing he was probably right.

* * *

I'm going to sleep now. Peace. XD Oh, and I probably won't be able to update until tomorrow night again. Til then. Night.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys. So, I really appreciate all of your comments and corrections and stuff. Believe it or not, when you have to point out a typo to be critical, it makes my day. Cause that means you didn't see anything major and had to call me on a little typo. I laugh at myself when I see the things you point out. Today, I got a review saying that Shane and Mitchie don't fight realistically. Mitch is always crying it seems like. Which is true. And I appreciate you pointing that out. That's one side of the coin. But when you make suggestions for future occurrences, ya'll are undermining my plot! Lol. Be patient, please? Everything you guys are suggesting is coming, I promise. I really do appreciate all the reviews and everything. And if you really have a suggestion you think I wouldn't have thought off, PM me. Don't leave it in the review. Other wise it doesn't look like I thought of it if I did.. XD.

Things are getting awkward for Smitchie and really heating up for Naitlyn. And, no, they will not be sleeping together anytime soon. Mitchie is 16. Remember that please.

* * *

Chapter 11

A shrill ringing woke us up the next morning at around 6. Shane blindly reached for his phone.

"Umhg?" He answered the phone with an odd muffled sound that I giggled sleepily at.

"SHANE!" The phone screamed. Or Bradley, rather, screamed, waking us both up immediately.

"What?" Shane groaned.

"Would you care to explain _why_ there is a picture of you and Mitchie on the cover of almost every tabloid today? With a ring on her hand?"

We groaned. "We aren't engaged." Shane promised.

"Well how would you explain the ring she certainly didn't have to begin with?"

"I bought it for her. It's a promise ring. _Not_ an engagement ring." He sighed.

"Well, I think it would be best for you and Mitchie to do an interview, clear a lot of this up."

"When we get back. Sure." Shane offered. "And we'd like to talk to you about something."

"Sure thing. When you get back." Bradley agreed.

"An interview?" I squeaked at him. He mumbled and pulled me against him again, quickly drifting back to sleep. I couldn't help but do so as well.

My phone rang a few hours later, waking us up again. "Hello?"

"Did you see it?" Caitlyn asked.

"No." I sighed. "Bradley called and yelled real early, though."

"I'm sorry. This sucks." Caitlyn sympathized.

"Uh, huh. Wait 'til it's your turn to get attacked." I heard her laugh in reply. "Cait, I'm tired. Pop star over here likes to talk for a while before we fall asleep."

"I still can't believe his parents are letting you sleep in the same room let alone _bed_. My parents would kill me. But I'll let you get to sleep. Nate says hi and tell Shane we said hi." Caitlyn said before hanging up. I rolled back over onto Shane, who had already gone back to sleep.

The next few days had passed by in a blur. Nicky and I were getting along amazingly, and though Shane was happy to see us getting along, I don't think he was too thrilled at us ganging up on him. Caitlyn, Nate, and Jason all came to Shane's the morning of New Years Eve.

I was surprised to have Jason jump on the bed and wedge himself between us. Before I knew it, Caitlyn was hugging me from the other side, and Nate was behind her. Shane and I had matching looks of amusement at the evasion of our bed. We heard a camera click, and looked up to see Nicky laughing.

"You guys are crazy." She said as she walked away. To this very day I still have that picture on my dresser.

"What _are_ you guys doing?" Shane asked as he shoved Jason off of him.

Caitlyn sat up next to us, along with Nate, and started talking. "Well, we wanted to bring in the New Year with our friends." She laughed.

"And she missed you guys." Nate added.

Caitlyn glared. "_We _missed you." Moving on she said, "But I do believe that it is high time you two got out of bed." She pulled the blankets off and I could tell she was thankful Shane was clothed at least on the bottom. "Wow. I've never seen you sleep in anything but a thermal." She teased. I blushed and told her to shut up. The guys laughed at us bickering like normal.

She was right though, I _always_ sleep in my thermals. Even in the summer because of my air conditioner. But being with Shane, I didn't feel uncomfortable. He was slowly breaking me out of my self conscious shell.

After we had lunch with the guys, Caitlyn, Nicky and I sat on Nicky's floor talking about, well, _girl things_.

"Awwww." Caitlyn and Nicky cooed. "He sleeps with his hair curly for you?" Caitlyn was being the girliest I'd ever seen her.

I heard Kevin and Nate laughing while Jason awed. We didn't bother to close the door and I knew the guys were listening. Aside from the fact that we were being really loud, might I add. I blushed a bit but smiled brightly. "Yeah. It's so cute."

"I wouldn't want Nate to straighten his hair." Caitlyn said cocking her head to the side.

"Thank you!" Nate yelled from across the hall.

"Dude." Shane must have hit Nate because a faint 'ow' followed.

"Like they _don't_ know we can hear them." He argued.

We laughed at them as Nicky leaned back to look out the door. "We don't really care!" She said laughing. "I don't care what their hair is like as long as I can play with it." She added, ignoring the guys once again.

"Curls are more fun to play with." I decided after a moment of consideration.

"Yes they are." Caitlyn agreed. "Straight hair you've got to grab a section to play with. _Curls_ you can just grab a single curl and be happy for a while."

Nicky nodded. "Yup, they're easier to hide make out hair with, too." She added.

"What?!" Shane yelled from Kevin's room.

"Shut up, Shane!" I yelled back. "Yeah, my hair isn't happy when Shane's done with it."

"Uh huh. But I bet _you_ are." Caitlyn teased. I blushed.

Nicky leaned in closer to us, trying to whisper. "So you guys _seriously_ aren't doing it?" She asked me.

"Nicky!" I heard Shane yell again.

"Wasn't asking you!" She yelled back.

I smiled. "No, we aren't. Honest."

"You have _no_ idea what you're missing…" Caitlyn said quietly and giggling.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked. "And you _never_ told me?" I yelled.

Nate yelled back at me, "Subject change, please, I'm begging you."

"No!" I yelled back. "Seriously? When?"

"…Recently." She said slowly.

"Really?" Shane yelled.

"Shut up!" I yelled back. "Recently when?"

"Can we _not_ talk about this now with _them_ listening?" Caitlyn pleaded.

I agreed. "As soon as we are in our room alone, you _will_ tell me _everything_." Nate groaned as Caitlyn giggled.

I laughed so hard when Nate entered the room, I fell over. He crawled in on his knees and begged, "Please, Mitchie, not _everything_."

"Awe, Nate, are you embarrassed?"

"No." He answered quickly.

"I suppose." I said, knowing full well Caitlyn would still tell me everything. And she did.

"Oh!" Nicky said standing up quickly. "I need to get ready for the party."

Now leaning in the door frame, Shane asked, "Party?"

"Yeah, ya know, teenagers everywhere, dancing, drinking, having sex on any available surface?" She taunted her brother. "I'm wearing the new skirt you bought me." I had to keep from laughing. I may have stretched the skirts length out a little to Shane.

He checked his watch. "Well, I guess, Mitchie and Caitlyn should get ready, too, for dinner." We jumped up and ran to Shane's room to get ready.

"Wow. You are full of surprises today, Torres." Caitlyn commented as I took my dress out of Shane's closet and laid it on the bed. "I like. Not your usual style, but I like."

"What are you wearing?" I asked, getting ready to jump in the shower.

"Oh, a dress with a vest over it." She said opening a garment bag on the floor. I nodded and took my shower.

An hour and a half later, Caitlyn and I sat on Shane's bed putting our shoes on. Our hair was done, our make up was done, dresses and pantyhose were on, and jewelry was on.

Caitlyn clipped onside of her curls back off her face and did her make-up in dark eyeliner and white eye shadow. Typical Caitlyn with a dash of girly added. I opted to curl my hair except for my bangs and leave it down. My make up was pretty normal for me as well.

Nicky poked her head in the door a moment later, "They want to know if you're ready yet and I wanted to see how you look." She closed the door behind her as she entered. "I like. I like." She said taking us both in. "I'll go tell them your ready, okay?" We nodded. Shortly after she left, Shane knocked on the door and came in. He stopped short when he saw us, or probably me. Nate walked into Shane's back.

"Man, what th-" He stopped seeing Caitlyn. Jason walked into Nate's back.

"Nate, why'd you- Wow." Jason said looking us over.

Shane nodded. "Yeah, wow." We smiled. All three had on black dress pants and white dress shirts. Shane's plain tie was loose around his neck and his top two buttons were open showing the blue shirt he had underneath. Nate had one of the ties Caitlyn and I had bought him where it belonged, though his sleeves were pushed up to just below his elbow. Jason had a vest on over his dress shirt.

"You guys don't look so bad yourself." I said, kissing Shane's cheek. Caitlyn laughed nodding in agreement as she greeted Nate.

"Shall we?" Shane asked.

"We shall." I laughed taking his offered arm. We all laughed and giddily headed off to dinner. Shane had originally made a reservation for two at fancy restaurant in Boston, but ending up changing it to 5 earlier when we found out about our guests.

While we were walking toward the restaurant from the car, Shane pulled me back a little behind the others.

"Guess date attempt number 2 isn't working out too well either." He sighed. I could tell he was disappointed.

"Yeah, well." I shrugged. "At least we're with our friends this time." I said hoping to cheer him up a bit. He laughed and wrapped his arm around me. I borrowed Nicky's pea coat, as my puffy winter jacket simply did _not_ go with the dress. He didn't seem bothered by the cold air.

"You look… _amazing_ by the way." He said softly.

"You might have mentioned it earlier with a 'wow'." I teased. He just smiled as we entered with everyone else.

Dinner passed pleasantly and we all were excited to go home and wait for the ball to drop. Caitlyn and I blasted the stereo as Mr. & Mrs. Grey weren't there for the night. They must _really_ trust us if they were leaving us alone. Then again, the guys were all 18. Really, they were leaving a 16 and a 17 year-old girl home alone with 3 older guys. We danced around Shane's living room, with the guys laughing at us. Eventually Jason began dancing with us. Shane and Nate were content to watch their girlfriends dance. Shane admitted later that he was afraid to dance with me. He didn't want to risk something _awkward_ occurring.

As the time drew closer to the ball dropping, we turned off the radio and squished ourselves on to the couch. Jason sat on the floor between Caitlyn and I while our boyfriends flanked us on either side. Shane's hand was grasped tightly in mine as we waited.

"10...9...8..." We counted, gaining volume. "7...6...5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" We all screamed. Caitlyn and I hugged then we kissed Jason's cheeks at the same time. Then we kissed our boyfriends while Jason shook his head, eyes glued to the TV.

After calling all of our parents, and Nicky and Kevin, we all headed to bed. I was surprised when Shane suggestion the sleeping arrangements.

"Maybe, Caitlyn and Mitchie should take my bed. Jason can sleep in Kevin's room, Nate can take the guest room, and I'll sleep in my parents room." Caitlyn and Nate seemed disappointed.

"Why?" I asked confused.

"Because." Was his only answer. He kissed me quickly, mumbling good night and heading into his parents room.

I told Caitlyn to go sleep with Nate in the guest room as we got changed for bed. "I promise we can share one of our beds tomorrow night if you really want." I teased. After changing, I went down to Shane's parents room, knocking on the door and opening it slowly. "Shane?" I said.

He lifted his head off the pillow he'd been resting it on. I noticed he was laying on top of the covers in only his boxers. He hadn't bothered to grab pajama pants from his room before storming off. I sat on the end of the bed, fairly away from him.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing." He dropped his head back down. The only light in the room was coming from the small crack I'd left in the door. It sent a beam of light right up on to his face.

"Something." I argued. "Just tell me." I said edging closer. "Please?"

"I don't want to tell you." He said quietly. That hurt to hear him say.

"Oh, I'll… I'll leave you alone." I quickly stood up and returned to his room alone. As soon as I closed the door and dropped on to the bed, the door opened again, revealing Shane looking even more agonized than he had.

"Mitchie…" He sighed. "I just, don't want to freak you out, okay?"

I shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. "It's fine, Shane. Whatever. You don't have to tell me everything." I forced out, trying to keep my anger and hurt out of my voice.

"You don't get it, Mitchie!' He exclaimed, startling me a bit. He sighed deeply and fell back on the bed. "I don't want to weird you out or anything. You do that to yourself enough." He huffed. "If I tell you what's wrong, you're gonna blush and then go running to the guest room and make Nate come in here or go to Nicky's room and sleep there, and I don't want you to do that, because I don't want things to be awkward between us!" He was getting really worked up and so was I.

"You don't _know_ that, Shane. _Believe me_, I've got over a lot of awkwardness between us that you never noticed!" I yelled back at him.

He had to challenge me. "Like what?" He asked sitting up, very curious.

"Like the first night we slept together," I paused, mentally noting how weird that sounded. "You decided to drop your head against me when I mentioned your hair. Do you know how _weird_ that was to have your face smushed into my chest? It's different when a girl does it. Where as a guy is basically burying his face in the girl's boobs!" I yelled, frustrated.

"That bothered you?" He asked quietly. I shrugged, suddenly uncertain.

"A little, but then you just moved your head and acted like it was nothing."

"Now I'm really not telling you." He decided standing up.

"Shane!" I yelled. "No, tell me." I demanded.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"_Shane._" I warned. "Just tell me!" I practically screamed.

"Because I want you!" He screamed back almost instantly.

I paused at his words, looking at him confused. "What?"

"Nothing, forget it." He shook his head, attempting to leave again. I grabbed his wrist stopping him.

"Explain that, please?" I asked softly. When I felt him relaxing against my hold, I pulled him back to sit on the bed.

"I don't think us sharing a bed is such a good idea tonight." He explained slightly. "Any night, for that matter, at this point. When I saw you in your bra the other day, that had me on edge to begin with. Then tonight, you looked, _so damn sexy_." He practically moaned falling back once again. I smiled slightly at him. "I don't think I can keep my self from touching you in ways I shouldn't. That's why I didn't dance with you earlier, either." My mouth formed a really big 'O'.

"Like, what?" I'd asked timidly.

He laughed. "_That_, I'm not telling you." He replied.

"Shane," I grabbed his hand, "This is our last night to be together like this for a while. I'm sure it'll be fine. Please?"

He looked unsure, but he nodded anyway. After changing into pajama pants in the bathroom, he joined me in the bed. I'd had my back to him when he climbed in, so he slipped his arm around my waist and held me tightly to him. I laced our fingers together as we silently fell asleep. Nothing awkward happening at all.

The next day the 5 of us packed what needed to be packed and had a quick breakfast before saying good-bye. On the plane, Shane, Jason and I sat in one row, while Caitlyn and Nate were behind us. Shane and I had been feeling bad, as they always got stuck with Jason and never us.

That night when Mom and Dad asked how it was, Caitlyn and I both blushed and smiled as much as we could. "Amazing." We answered honestly.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm surprised. Only one person pointed out something _major_. For those of you who forget, all three band members wear purity rings. I thought I'd remind you since not too many picked up on that. However, I have to point out that **Dracos-Slytherin-Goddess** was the only one to comment. Good memory. Warning: There is cursing and drama in this chapter. And I know the interview seems a bit summarizing, but I wanted to show how they chose their words. Please don't hate me, Nate, or Shane. And remember, these are characters, not the Jonas Brothers, so I _can_ manipulate them how I wish. Hehe. Oh, and our first cliffhanger.

* * *

Chaptter 12

"Tell me." I demanded as soon as we closed our bedroom door behind us.

Caitlyn sighed and sat on her bed, looking pretty uncomfortable. Not half as open as she was the day before. "Do I have to?"

"No," I offered. "But if you want to, I won't mind listening." I said sitting across from her on my own bed.

"I don't think Shane is too happy at the moment." Caitlyn said quietly.

I tilted my head in confusion. He was in a much better mood when we all got up that morning, and his mood seemed to be getting better by the hour. "What makes you say that?"

"You didn't notice the tension between Nate and Shane all night?"

"What tension? They were fine all night. Like when they were watching us dance." I asked confused still.

She shook her head. "They stopped talking once Jason came over to dance with us. They barely spoke the rest of the night." She clarified.

As I thought about it, it made sense. I still didn't understand _why_ they'd be mad at each other. "But what's the matter with them?"

Caitlyn got defensive. "It's what's the matter with _him_ not them. I think Shane is pissed at Nate and I for…" She trailed off blushing.

Unlike most parents, mine didn't tell me I _had_ to wait until I was married. _But_ if I couldn't say to them 'I _want to have_/**had** sex' without blushing, stumbling, and being generally embarrassed, then I had no business doing it. That was what I grew up believing in and I knew I wasn't ready. I didn't think Caitlyn had been either.

"Caitlyn…" I sighed. "Shane, Nate, and Jason have a different outlook on life. Or, they did. Shane thinks you're supposed to wait until your married, and that was a belief he and Nate _shared_. Remember how you got mad at me for ditching you for Tess? How I had all these things I thought were important and I threw them away to impress Tess? In Shane's eyes those things are their view about sex and Tess is the girl Nate really, really cares about."

"Like Shane is some Saint?" Caitlyn mumbled in reply.

Getting upset, I replied, "Kinda. We _haven't_ done anything. Shane and I have known each other longer than you and Nate. But I don't want the problems between our boyfriends to effect _us_, okay? We didn't force them to make that promise and therefore it's not our problem." I could tell she was still upset with me, but she nodded and agreed anyway.

"Can we talk tomorrow?" She asked crawling into bed. "I'm tired." I nodded and left the room. It was still fairly early and I wasn't very tired.

"Oh, Mitchie!" Mom stopped me as I headed into the living room.

"Yeah, Mom?" I asked finding her in the kitchen.

"Mr. Bradley called earlier today to let us know you have an interview tomorrow after school. 3 magazines are gonna be there to do 'one on one' interviews. Shane's going to pick you up and take you where ever they decide to do it tomorrow."

"Oh, cool." I said, looking less than thrilled.

"You nervous, sweetie?" Mom asked in her motherly way.

I shrugged. "A little. But I'm sure I'll be fine." I assured Mom.

After that, I was suddenly more tired than I had been. Opting to not call Shane like planned, I climbed back upstairs and got changed for bed. My good ol' thermal snuggly in place.

When I got out of bed, Caitlyn was up and mostly dressed already. I saw her roll her eyes a bit when she saw I was wearing my thermal again. I didn't want to cause problems, so I let it go.

Breakfast was in silence, and so was the trip to school. By lunch, Caitlyn had told me she was going to go to the computer lab for the period. I was hungry so I stayed in lunch. I'd never felt more alone or wished for Sierra in my life. Sierra _never_ left me alone at lunch. Even if we were mad at each other. We simply sat in silence the whole time.

"All alone, today?" I heard a timid voice ask as the person sat down. "Sierra?" I was surprised when she sat down. "Won't Rosie get mad at your for talking to me?" I asked, disbelieving she was there out of the goodness of her heart.

"Probably. I don't really care, though. I'm friends with them to avoid being alone. That was something we never did to each other and then in waltzed Caitlyn and you pushed me to the side."

"I didn't mean to, Sierra." I was half apologetic, half defensive. "You didn't believe me about Shane, at all. And then you got upset when you found out I was telling the truth and Caitlyn and I left with them. We had a meeting to go to."

"Yeah, but then you just kept going on and on about Caitlyn and Shane. And then Caitlyn came to school and I felt like the third wheel."

I shook my head. "That's because you let yourself. Jason is always the spare tire with us. It's Shane and me, and Caitlyn and Nate, and then Jason. He always has fun anyway."

"Jason's an airhead, Mitch." She said rolling her eyes laughing slightly. I laughed, too. "Where's Caitlyn today?" She asked finally.

"Too much togetherness lately." I lied smoothly. "She needed a little space."

I knew Sierra doubted that, but she let it go. "So, I heard you were engaged?" She gave me an odd look.

"No. It's a promise ring. We aren't engaged." I showed her the ring.

She looked at it for a moment before replying. "It's on the wrong hand." I looked at her in confusion. "This is a Claddagh ring, right?" I nodded. "It should be on your right hand unless you are married or engaged. You are neither."

"Oh, that matters?" I asked.

"Only if the tradition matters. If you like the ring, and are not wearing it because of the tradition, then I guess not. But you might have some of Shane's fans mad if they know what it is." She shrugged uncaring.

I nodded. "So, how's life on the dark side?"

"Tiring." She answered. "Rosie wanted to know everything I knew about you, but I didn't really tell her anything. I think she keeps me around in case something like the slapping incident happens again, so she can retaliate."

"Why hasn't she?" I asked. That had been about a month ago.

She shrugged. "She was going to, but I guess when Shane showed up, and we all heard you talking, we understood. I think she realizes it must be hard for you to date a celebrity."

"Rosie Maren has a heart, who knew?" Caitlyn said sitting down.

"I thought you wanted to be alone?" I asked Caitlyn, trying to keep my tone indifferent.

"I did. Then I was lonely and realized you were probably alone, too. But I see Sierra finally saw the light again." Caitlyn seemed generally happy that Sierra was sitting there. "I was wondering when you two would make up."

"What?" Sierra and I both asked.

"You guys have been friends forever. Little things don't come between you and big things don't stay between you for long." Turning to me specifically, she added, "And things that aren't your fault shouldn't either." I knew that was her way of apologizing to me.

"Very true." I agreed. "Sierra, you back for good?"

She nodded happily. "I hate Rosie. After day one, I remembered every single reason over the last couple of years why we hated her." We laughed. I was glad to have my friends back.

After school, the two were standing on either side of my locker. "You nervous?" Caitlyn asked. I nodded.

"For what?" Sierra asked.

I sighed, "Interview. We have to explain a lot of things." I closed my locker, zipping up my coat. The weather finally got cold, and hopefully it would snow soon. Christmas wasn't the same with no snow.

"Good luck." Sierra offered. I gave her a small smile and walked outside with them in tow. I felt hands cover my eyes.

"Shane…" I laughed. When he moved his hands I turned around to see him smiling brightly.

"Come on." I heard Caitlyn say to Sierra. "Later, Mitch!" Sierra yelled bye as well as Caitlyn dragged her away.

"What was that about?" Shane asked.

I shrugged. "Don't know. Anyway, where are we going?" I asked as we headed to the limo awaiting us. Shane refused to tell me. Already waiting for us was Connect 3's press manager Stacy.

"Okay, you are to only talk about your relationship. Mention nothing about the album, _unless_ you mention the duet. It releases in 2 weeks, so that's alright. Try to tell them as much as possible, but nothing that can bite us in the ass, okay?" Stacy was very specific about what she told the media about the band. "We're hoping that if we tell them a lot, they'll think you're open about everything and won't try to dig something up. We're really hoping the public falls in love with you. The fact that you've already been fairly nice to the paparazzi, Mitchie, is good. They like you." We pulled up outside of Shane's apartment.

"Seriously?" I whispered to him. He nodded, looking less than thrilled.

"Good luck." Stacy said to us as we climbed out. We entered the apartment a few minutes later to see three reporters, 2 photographers, and Rich, the band's new manager. Rich was in the kitchen area, leaning on the counter separating the living room from the kitchen.

"Hey, guys." Shane smiled at them, leading me by our clasped hands over to them. "I'm Shane, this is my girlfriend Mitchie. Who are you all?" He asked politely. We were really trying to make them like us.

"Vicki Roberts, YM magazine."

"Terri Nichols, ComsoGirl."

"Jeremy Sanders, Teen People."

"Nice to meet you all." I said smiling.

"Shall we?" Shane said motioning for everyone to sit. The reporters all sat on the couch, leaving Shane and I to share an arm chair. I sat down, letting him sit on the floor in front of me, between my legs.

"Okay, let's just start with what we all want to know," Jeremy started, obviously the more experienced of them all. "The engagement rumors."

"We're not." Shane said shaking his head. "I bought Mitchie a promise ring."

"Why is it on the left hand if its not an engagement ring?" Vicki asked.

I answered this question, shocking Shane a bit that I did. "It's a similar thing to the purity ring Shane wears. It's to symbol a serious commitment to an ideal or belief. It's our way of showing everyone we're confident in our relationship and nothing is going to change that."

"I'd forgotten about that." Terri laughed. "Shane has it been hard for you to keep that promise now that you're in a real relationship?"

He shook his head no, and then yes. "Yes and no. There _are_ times when I wish I didn't have it because honestly, I am a guy and think my girlfriend is hot." I blushed at his words. "But then I'm grateful I do have it because it keeps us from doing things our relationship isn't ready for. A lot of times people who think they're in love get caught up in that and do things they may regret later. It can make a relationship awkward and one-tracked."

I placed my hand on his shoulder and interrupted him, adding "Shane and I are more concerned with getting to know everything about the other and focusing on that and our careers. Oh, and school in my case."

Shane reached up and laced our fingers together. "School?" Jeremy asked. "What do you major in?" Shane and I laughed lightly.

"I'm still in high school." Three shocked faces looked at us.

"How old are you?" Vicki was the first to recover.

Shane answered for me, "She's 16 and we _do_ have her parents permission to be dating."

"I'll be 17 in 3 months." I added.

"How did your parents take it when you told them about you?" Terri asked taking the opening we gave them.

I smiled. "My mom had been at Camp Rock with us when we met, so she had already gotten to know Shane and was okay with it. My _dad_, however, pulled the typical protective father act and didn't really warm up to Shane too much at first."

"It was a lot of work to get him to like me." Shane threw in.

I nodded. "But eventually he did. Shane and the boys came over and helped my dad set up my room when my friend Caitlyn moved in with us. I didn't know until my mother and I got back with Caitlyn that he had come over. It really impressed Dad."

"I think he likes Nate and Jason more though." Shane pouted playfully.

Jeremy asked, "Does the band spend a lot of time at your house?"

I nodded. "Yeah. None of the guys can cook to save their lives." I smiled, "And my mom is a caterer, so they are always over my house for dinner. I don't think I've eaten at my kitchen table more than 10 times since I started dating Shane. It's too small for all of us to fit."

"You mentioned meeting at Camp Rock," Vicki started, "Did you start dating during the camp?"

Shane shook his head no. "No, I was an instructor, and she was a camper. We became friends when she heard me playing my guitar on the dock. In the end, though, she ended up being the girl I had been trying to find all summer. I heard her singing and had no idea it was her. Her voice had me captivated."

"Which I was lucky I was his mystery girl." I gripped his hand tighter as I admitted, "I had actually let the 'it' girl at the camp intimidate me and I lied to her, and in turn the entire camp. And it was a pretty big lie. When she revealed that to the entire camp, Shane got really upset with me. When he heard me sing at Final Jam, I had unknowingly sang the song he'd heard."

"I began singing with her after I saw it was Mitchie. After that we talked things out and I realized she hadn't lied to me directly, but by consequence of lying to the other girl."

I smiled. "We've been together since."

"Any possibility of you two singing together?" Jeremy asked.

"Actually," Shane smiled up at me. "The label loved Mitchie's song, and when I started singing with her, I sang part of the song she inspired me to write. They loved the combination and asked us to record the duet for the new record."

"Which the world will be hearing in two weeks." I added.

"The new single is your duet?" They clarified. We nodded.

After that they asked us more questions about what dating is like for us. Did we have any future plans. Is an engagement possible.

"I promise, the world will _definitely_ know if we get engaged."

Shane was quick to correct me, "When." He smiled up at me again while kissing my hand still in his. I giggled, nodding.

After a few staged pictures we said good-bye. Rich commented that we did really good. We led the interview, revealing things as we wanted them and didn't get caught in any traps. Rich left soon after.

"You okay?" Shane asked, knowingly.

"I'm nervous. Telling them about the whole lying thing…"

Shane kissed my forehead. "At least _you_ told them and not someone from Camp Rock, which would result in a major need for damage control." I relaxed into his arms sighing contently.

"At least its over." I mumbled. He nodded.

A few days later we were sitting in the apartment again, this time hanging out with Jason. We were helping him make the bird house. Jason insisted that Shane help him since he never made it, and Shane insisted I helped because I bought it.

We were all laughing and messing around as we attempted to put the bird house together. Suddenly, the door bursted open revealing a very angry Nate.

"I can't believe you!" He yelled at Shane. "You are being such a damn hypocrite!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shane said standing up to confront him.

"That interview!" The first printing of our interview had been on Cosmo's site, earlier today. They seemed to love us. "How could you say something like that? Caitlyn's in tears because of what you said."

I jumped in to the conversation, "Why is Caitlyn in tears? Is she okay?"

"Like you care." He snarled at me. "Your little comment didn't help any. You're making yourself out to be the perfect couple, when in reality, _you're not_."

"At least we're taking things slow. We aren't jumping each other every chance we get." Shane shot back.

"Fucking hypocrite!" Nate yelled back.

"How is he being a hypocrite, Nate?" I asked.

"You don't know?" Nate asked, more calmly. "You never told her?" He asked Shane. "Mr. Self Righteous knows how, Mitch, why don't _you_ ask him."

"Shane, what is he talking about?" I asked growing more and more worried.

"Nothing. Because he's being the bigger hypocrite, aren't you Nate?" Shane said attempting to change the subject.

"Shane." I said forcefully, refusing to let him distract me.

He sighed glaring at Nate while answering. "I wasn't exactly _innocent_ when we were younger." He said grinding his teeth together.

I think the world stop turning at that point.

* * *

And I'm off to fireworks now. Peace :p


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys. Wow. I was not expecting _that_ kind of response. Again, I wow. Thanks so much for all the support as usual. If it's any consolation to your anticipation, my fireworks got drizzled on so they weren't as good as they normally are. My towns are usually amazing. Boo. And another slightly misconception was brought to my attention. While Nate did like Caitlyn way back when, they didn't know each other. Nate thought Caitlyn was cute and liked her music. Kay, now I hope you all like how this plays out. Remember that big fight I promised you? Hehe.

* * *

Chapter 13

I felt my heart stop and speech become impossible. I looked to Nate and Jason, hoping to see something in their faces that would tell me he didn't just say what I thought he said. No, neither of them would even look me in the face. Even Jason, my Jason. Sweet, innocent, naïve, air-headed Jason.

"Mitchie…" Shane's gentle voice said softly, edging closer to me. "Just breath." I hadn't realized I was standing their with my mouth open, most likely not breathing. I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts. Maybe it wasn't that bad.

"What does that mean?" I asked slowly, closing my eyes and concentrating on forming the words. I was answered with silence. "Shane…" I warned. "What does that mean."

He shot Nate a pretty lethal glare and took my hand. I pulled away like I had been burned. "Mitchie, can we _please_ have this conversation in private?" He asked.

"Why?" I asked sarcastically. "They already know the truth." I gestured to the two boys standing quietly and awkwardly next to us.

"_Mitchie_. Please?" He insisted. I refused to move to somewhere else. I sat down on the couch, and Jason and Nick quickly sat next to me, forcing Shane to sit in the arm chair.

"What did that mean, Shane? And tell me the truth. What? Did you sleep with someone?" He refused to look at me as I spoke.

I'd never seen him look so ashamed of something. "I'm only going to say this so you understand everything better, okay? We didn't always have the rings. We got them _after_ our last summer at Camp Rock. Just after we got our record deal. It was Nate's idea. He thought it would be good for us." He turned to Nate. "That's why I'm so mad at you for sleeping with Caitlyn." Looking back at the floor, he continued, "Everyone says we're moving too fast, yet they're a lot worse than us. And I wasn't talking about just him in the interview." He paused. Through his entire explanation he hadn't once looked at me. Now he lifted his head half way, his eyes piercing straight through me with his next words. "I was talking about myself." My breath caught again as my suspicions were confirmed. I made to stand up, unable to handle this, but Jason grabbed my arm.

"Hear him out, Mitch." I sat down again. Jason was a very good listener, and many a time I'd confided many things in him. There were things about Shane and I that I'd only tell Jason. I knew Caitlyn wouldn't always understand, but Jason didn't need to. He just listened. So, I trusted his judgment. I stayed and I listened.

"Our last summer at Camp Rock, I was 15. I thought I was the shit back then, too. Except these two were usually quick to put me in my place. They couldn't when it came to her." I flinched when I heard him mention _her_. "She was a lot like Tess. That's why I didn't like Tess too much. But she was nicer than Tess. She didn't step on people, she just used them. We'd flirted every summer for the past 3 summers. That summer we finally got together. And things got… intense. Real fast. Things happened I didn't really expect and they got out of hand." He sighed. "We slept together just before countdown week for Final Jam. A month later, she called me. She thought she might have pregnant." I felt my stomach clench. I did not want to hear this.

"I can't handle this." I said standing up. "I'm sorry. You're just making, no sense."

He was quick to stop me. "Mitchie, please, just let me finish." I looked at his hand on my wrist and then his eyes. I could never deny him when he begged. I nodded and sat down once more. "She wasn't. But I had told the guys anyway. We had just signed to Lava and we had a lot to lose. After that happened, Nate suggested we wear the rings. It would keep us from getting too carried away with the 'rock star' life. I'd never been so scared in my life, so I did. I never wanted that to happen again. I had my entire career ahead of me and I almost lost it." He looked up at me again. "That's why it's so hard for me with you sometimes. I'm afraid of something like that happening, again. I'm not willing to risk either of our futures like that."

I swallowed. That was a lot to take in. "Jason, can you take me home? I really need to think this over."

"What do you have to think about, Mitch?" Shane asked, desperately confused.

"You lied to me!" I cried. "And yes, I lied to you, but you got _mad_ at me for it, remember? So yeah, right now, I'd say you're the biggest hypocrite in the world. And Nate, so are you. You had better talk to Caitlyn before I do, because when _I_ do, you won't like the results." I headed to the door, waiting for Jason.

"What-" Nate began but Jason covered his mouth with his hand.

"Guys. Just let her cool off." Jason said softly. "Keys?" He asked Shane. Shane was about to protest but saw the way I was glaring at him. He silently handed Jason his keys, his eyes never leaving mine.

I didn't say anything the entire time. Jason tried to cheer me up. He may be an airhead most of the time, but he had a really good heart.

"We figured he would've told you when he gave you the ring." He said when he pulled into my driveway. "We never bothered to ask."

"It's not your fault. They're both grown. They can handle their own messes. And yes, I mean Nate, too. Caitlyn is going to be even more upset when I tell her that it was his idea and he went against it."

He just sighed. "Night, Mitch." He kissed my cheek as I kissed his back.

"Night, Jason." I had a passing thought about needing to find him a girlfriend. But no one good enough came to mind.

I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a container of ice cream and two spoons. I climbed the stairs and entered my room. Caitlyn was sitting on her bed, in tears still, with her cell phone sitting in front of her. I silently climbed on her bed with her and passed her a spoon. We ate in silence for a few minutes before she spoke. "I'm sorry. Shane had every right to be mad."

I shook my head no. "Yes and no. He had a right to be upset at Nate, but he should have explained or talked it out with Nate when it happened. I'm sure if they had, a lot of this drama would have been avoided."

"At least we know the truth, now." Caitlyn sighed. "Nate gave me the basics."

"I'm not upset that it happened," I began. "I'm upset that he never told me. Like when I didn't tell him I lied to Tess, it was because I didn't want to disrupt the balance of me and him. This, though? He had so many perfect opportunities. When he gave me the ring, when he I freaked out the one night we were making out, the last night in Boston. At any point the he could have said, 'I need to explain something to you'. And I would have listened. I might have been a little upset, but I would have gotten over it. I'm upset he lied to me about it."

"He didn't lie, Mitchie," Caitlyn pointed out. "He just never told you the true reason behind their rings."

"Same difference." I shrugged. "Maybe I more upset that he didn't understand when I lied but then did the same thing. Maybe I'm just upset he's being a hypocrite."

Caitlyn laughed. "Ya know, I look more upset then you do."

I laughed, too. "That's because I'm more angry than anything at this point. I mean, Jason and Nate knew the whole time and never thought to ask if he'd told me. It just makes me think of what else he might not have told or might not tell me in the future."

"I just can't believe Nate would break that promise." Caitlyn said. "I mean, we were so caught up in the moment. And after I remembered it, and he said it didn't matter. He loved me and that was the important part." She sniffled. "I just nodded and went with it." She hit herself on the forehead. "How could I be so stupid!"

"He does love you." I said, hoping to help a little. "When Shane and I were discussing our kids' hair-" She gave me a very odd look. "-I said I guess I'll just have to steal Nate or Caitlyn's kid, and he said Nate _and_ Caitlyn's kid. He said Nate' s pretty serious about you. He was afraid you two were moving too fast. I guess we were being like the two of you were in the beginning with us."

She smiled, and I knew I had helped. "Thanks." She said. "Okay, now, why were you talking about kids?"

I blushed. "I was just thinking, since my hair is so straight and his is actually about as curly as Nate's, what our kids hair would look like. He said he hopes we don't have curly haired kids because he hates his hair."

"You two are entirely too cute." She laughed. "Like the picture next to your interview on Cosmo? You're all leaning forward over him, laughing. And you have one hand on his shoulder laced with his, and the other is like resting in his hair. And he's just looking up at you with the biggest smile in the world. Cosmo said you guys are the cutest couple they've seen in a long time. They're totally in love with you. I don't know if I'd be able to handle it if Nate and I ever get this much drama over us."

"I don't think you will. I don't mean that to be mean. It's just that he's the notorious bad boy and now he's all cute and sweet and caring and has a serious girlfriend. Unless you got the workaholic to do something crazy and reckless with cameras around, I don't think you have to worry."

She sighed in relief. "Good." After a moment, she said, "Your duet gets released on Wednesday." It was Friday.

"I know. And I'll put on a smile and fake it if I have to." I said stabbing at my ice cream. Thursday night we had a big social thing to go to pending the positive feedback on the song.

"I'll make Nate do something crazy if I have to." She offered. I smiled in gratitude.

"Let's talk about something else, okay?" I said settling back against her pillows. She nodded and soon we were lost in a random conversation about a whole lot of nothing.

Neither Caitlyn nor I talked to our boyfriend for the entire weekend. Caitlyn finally caved and had been texting Nate since Monday morning. I held my ground and refused to text Shane at all. Every morning I had a message saying _Good Morning, baby. I'm sorry. I love you_. And every night I got another saying _G'night, Mitchie. I miss you. Please talk to me soon. I love you_.

It was now Wednesday, and I did _not_ want to go to school. But I knew I had to. I knew by the end of the day, everyone would have at least heard about the song, if they didn't hear it before school or during lunch. I also knew that tomorrow would be worse, because by then, everyone _would have_ heard the song.

As we ate breakfast, I received my morning text. I wasn't going to read it, but I decide to anyway. _Good luck today. Ignore anyone who says something stupid about the song. You're amazing and they're jealous. Love you._ I smiled slightly. Even when I was mad at him, he managed to squash my fears and make me feel better.

"…_and the surprise you've been waiting for. Connect 3's new song being released today, "This Is Me" isn't actually Connect 3's! The song is a duet sung and written by Shane Grey and girlfriend Mitchie Torres. After hearing this, there is no way you won't believe how in love the two are." _The HotTunes reporter paused as one of the pictures from our interview showed and they played a clip of Shane and I singing together. I almost cried when I heard it. I wanted to be mad at him a little bit longer. I didn't want to give in after a week. I gave myself credit for not being a basket case like I had been during our last fight.

"_Grey claims Torres wrote the original song "This Is Me", while they added lyrics he wrote about how her voice captured him and reminded of who he himself is. We hope Smitchie is here for a while…"_

"Did you have to play that, Cait?" I asked glaring at her slightly.

She shrugged innocently. "What? How did I know they were going to talk about you?"

"Uh, maybe because you knew the song was going to be played on every single radio station this morning?" I threw back.

She laughed. "Whatever."

At school kids who had heard the song came up to me saying how good it was. Sierra just kept saying how great it was and how happy she was for me. That I was really going somewhere with my music.

"Oh look, _Smitchie_ is missing it's other half." Rosie snickered while passing me laughing. I let it go.

"Oh, Mitch, I thought of another perk to being popular in addition to those exciting short outfits." Caitlyn began. "When you date someone, you get a really cheesy nickname for the two of you."

"No, that's just when you're _famous,_ Naitlyn." I smirked in reply.

She groaned. "Seriously? Naitlyn? Why not just _Cate._ That sounds normal."

I laughed at her. "Because that's _your name_ Cait." She pouted for the rest of lunch while Sierra and I talked.

I tried to hold out for the rest of the day from texting Shane back. I decided to stay mad at him for the rest of today, and I would make up with him when the guys picked us up for the social tomorrow night. I almost gave in when he texted me goodnight. _G'night, Mitchie. I hope you'll at least talk to me tomorrow. I keep thinking about how beautiful you'll look and I know I'll be content to just stare at you all night if you still won't talk to me. Love you._ Okay, so I gave in a little, but not much_. _That boy had a knack for making me melt. I sent him a simple _Good night, Shane_. And left it at that.

The following morning, Caitlyn was smiling knowingly and it was getting to me. "What?" I asked as mom placed breakfast in front of us.

She shrugged, stuffing her face with pancakes. I shot her a look as my phone vibrated. _Morning. I can't wait to see you tonight. Love you._ Her smiled grew bigger as she looked over my shoulder.

"What?' I snapped.

"You texted him back." She sang in a sing-songy voice.

That caught Mom's attention. "You two made up?" She asked excited.

"Not yet." I mumbled stabbing my pancake. Mom's smile slipped a bit. "I'm going to talk to him tonight. But I want him to really understand what he did to me at Camp Rock and what he did by not telling me the truth." I had told mom the true story about why we were fighting, but not my father. He thinks we're taking 'a breather' so we look extra happy and together tonight.

"Oh, sweetie. You have to let that go eventually, though."

I sighed. "I know. But I want him to really understand. I promise, I'll make up with him tonight."

At six o'clock that night, Caitlyn and I stood in semi-formal dresses looking ourselves over. Once again, I wore green, just to drive Shane insane. Oh, that rhymed! Caitlyn was a little more dressed up tonight, though. We were both nervous, as we hadn't seen our respective boyfriends since _the fight_.

When the guys arrived they looked much like they had on New Years Eve. Jason sent us encourage smiles as we descended the stairs. Nicky was on his arm, surprising us. Jason asked Nicky if she wanted to come to the party and keep him company, knowing tonight would be a very couple-y night. She had agreed.

We greeted Nicky as casually as we could due to our nerves. Caitlyn nervously pressed a kiss against Nate's cheek and I followed her lead. Shane grabbed my hand, keeping me back as the others headed back out to the waiting limo.

"Have you forgiven me?" He asked, confused by me kissing him.

I shrugged. "Do you know why I was mad at you?"

He looked away and nodded. "I was such a jerk to you about lying to Tess, and then I did the same this entire time."

"You could have told me and I would have been fine. Shane, my beliefs aren't the same as yours. So what if you…" I stopped speaking, knowing my dad could be listening. "I just wish you would have told me. This entire time I've been thinking you were worried about breaking your promise. If you told me the truth I would have understood and I would have appreciated the sentiment and you telling me."

"I know that now. I just, I want to forget that happened, but I can't. But I didn't want you to know about it. I wanted to keep you from my past because it has nothing to do with you. Personally, I _never_ want to hear about any ex's-" I blushed, looking away at his words. "Wait, you've… I'm really your- seriously?"

I glared at him a bit, "Yes, you're my first boyfriend."

He made a few open-and-close motions with his mouth before he finally spoke. "Wow. Did _not_ know that. Oh, well. That just makes this even more special, huh? I'm sorry I lied."

"I know. And now we've both had experience in keeping things from each other. And tomorrow, if there is anything else you'd like to tell me, go ahead. I won't get mad or judge. But tonight, let's forget everything and relax and have fun and be happy that everyone _loves_ our song." I smiled happily.

"I love _you_ and that's all I care about right now." He said pulling my hips toward his.

"I kn-" I began, before Caitlyn cut me off.

"Smitchie!" She screamed out of the limo. "Let's go!' I laughed, grabbing Shane's hand.

"Coming, _Naitlyn_." I yelled back. I heard Nate and Caitlyn groan while Nicky and Jason laughed. Shane just shook his head at us.

* * *

That's might be all until tomorrow night, or tonight depending. It's 2 am. That's how dedicated I am to all of you. At the moment anyway.


	14. Chapter 14

Wow. I really love you guys. Seriously. And, all I'm going to say about this one is I'm sorry it's a little on the short side. And for those of you who have been as upset as me about Jason being all alone… well… wait and see.

* * *

Chapter 14

Shane was literally glued to my side all night. From the moment we stepped out of the limo, my hip was attached to his, his arm wrapping around my back to keep my there. It didn't matter much though, because I had no desire to be anywhere else. Shane seemed to have learned the lesson I learned 5 months ago, and like every other problem he and I have had so far, I think we've grown from this. The paparazzi was outside the medium sized banquet hall where the party was being held. As Shane and I walked out first, they went particularly crazy. We laughed and posed for all sorts of pictures. When they noticed Nicky with Jason they started to freak.

"Shane! Is that your sister with Jason?" One of them yelled. Shane pulled Nicky over to him.

"Yup. Don't worry, she's only here to have fun." They took a few pictures of Shane and Nicky before we were able to go in.

As we entered, we saw about 200 people or so milling about. There were a few select reporters and photographers, talking and taking pictures. I noticed two of them were the ones that interviewed us. I waved at them, and they smiled, a bit confused, but waved back. In an article about the party a few days later, they commented on how friendly I am with reporters and such. That it was a breath of fresh air in their crazy world.

We saw the rest of the execs with Bradley, looking as if they were talking business as usual. Milo and Rich were standing with a bunch of other people actually enjoying themselves. There were other Lava stars running about as well.

What surprised all of us was the huge projection screen in the corner with an X-box attached to it. "Guitar Hero! Score!" Jason yelled running off. Nicky laughed at him, but pulled Caitlyn and I to follow. Shane and Nate had no choice but to come along as well.

By the time we made it over there, Jason had managed to lose to the girl standing next to him.

"What's up?" Shane said seeing Jason pouting.

"I lost." He whined slightly. The girl laughed.

"Well, you probably aren't used to playing on easy." Nate offered, trying to cheer him up.

The girl laughed again. "Good, 'cause I beat him on expert." Nate and Shane's mouths fell open. Jason had many good qualities in life, but the one thing that topped everything else: his ability to play the guitar immensely well. He skipped straight to expert and beat the game.

"Wow." I laughed, "Hi. I'm Mitchie." I extended my hand to her.

Raising her eyebrows slightly, she replied, "I'm nobody special." She shrugged. I took her in for a moment. She wore a simple black dress, with her reddish brown hair loose and wavy around her face. She was very pretty.

Caitlyn laughed. "Wow, you're parents were kinda mean to name you that. I've been complaining about Caitlyn for 17 years, but _man_."

She laughed again shaking her head. "No, they were even crueler and named me Anastasia." We laughed. "People I like call me Stas, though," She added.

"So, why are you here if you're nobody special?" Shane asked, not meaning to sound mean, although he did a little.

"My brother is your tour manager." She said simply. "His girlfriend broke up with him like 3 days ago, so little sister gets to take her place at the ball."

"I feel your pain. They think they can whip us around as they please." Nicky said sympathetically.

Anastasia laughed, "Yeah." Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, "I thought-" she gestured between Shane and I.

"Oh, I got dragged by Jason." Nicky gestured behind Anastasia to Jason, who was looking at Anastasia much like Nate does Caitlyn at times. "He didn't want to be alone with these 4." She gestured to the rest of us.

"Ah, been there. I understand." She said turning to Jason, who broke out of his reverie.

"You're really good at this game." He said gesturing to the screen.

She blushed a bit. "Thanks. You're pretty good too." Jason smiled at her. "Rematch?" She asked. Jason nodded enthusiastically.

As the two began playing again, we pulled Nicky away with us. "Great." She said. "Now I'm all alone." I laughed and wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"I'll keep you company." I offered.

"Who's going to occupy Shane then?" I shrugged.

We began talking and making rounds. Caitlyn and Nate went off on their own, while Shane, Nicky and I stayed together.

"Shane!" Someone said as they came toward us. He looked about 15 or 16.

"Riley." Shane greeted. "What's up?"

He laughed, "Well, I noticed your sister looking less than thrilled to be with you two, so I thought I'd come see if she wanted to dance." Shane's grip tightened on my hand.

"She would love to, wouldn't she, Nick?" I shoved her forward.

She smiled sweetly at Riley. "She would." Before Shane could protest, the two made their way to the dance floor.

Shane was glaring at the dance floor when Bradley beckoned us over to him. He was still talking to the other execs. "Ah, there they are." Bradley threw an arm around each of us, making us laugh.

"Congrats on the song." Some of the others said in various ways.

"I guess it's a good thing we sent you to Camp Rock for the summer!" One of the other execs said.

"Yes, it was. I'd forgotten how much I love that place." Shane said honestly.

"Well, now we know where to send our young pop stars who need a reality check." A particularly drunk exec added. Shane and I shared a look. This was the perfect time to talk to them.

"Actually, Camp Rock might not be there much longer." Shane sighed. "My uncle says there isn't enough money. And less and less people can afford the increasing cost."

I sighed as well. "It's such a great place but people don't realize it. Sponsors are more concerned with academic programs." We were laying it on a little thick.

"That's not good! We get lots of great talent out of that place! Look at you two!" Bradley exclaimed.

"Shane, be in my office tomorrow morning. Well discuss this further." The president himself of Lava Records commanded.

"Of course, sir." Shane squeezed my hand lightly.

"Oh, Caitlyn looks scared." I said noticing the distressed look on my dear friend's face. "Excuse me." I left Shane and the execs, though a moment later Shane was behind me.

Reaching her, I asked, "Cait, what's wrong?" She sighed in relief.

"I lost Nate, and I didn't know where he went. Someone pulled him away while I was talking to him."

Shane laughed. "Poor Nate. He hates when that happens." We began wandering around looking for him, while Caitlyn told us about everyone she'd met so far. Milo showed her off to all of the producers he was talking to. We found Nate talking to a really pretty girl about the guys' age. She was tall, slender, with short dark hair.

Shane seemed to tense immensely when he saw the girl. Nate seemed less than thrilled to be talking to her, but Caitlyn still looked upset.

"Hey, Nate." I said interrupting their conversation. I saw him sigh and quickly pull Caitlyn to him.

"Hey." He said uncomfortably.

"Hi, I'm Erica." The girl introduced, seeming very fake to me. "Shane, haven't seen you since Camp Rock."

Shane mumbled something, but not loud enough for any of us to understand. "Yeah," he said loud enough for us to hear. I didn't like the way he was acting around her. "What are you doing here, Erica?" He asked tightly.

"My _boyfriend_ is around here _somewhere_. I was catching up with Nate, though." I really did _not_ like this.

"You all know each other from Camp Rock?" Caitlyn asked, hoping to ease the tension.

"Shane and I dated for a little while." She smiled. There was something evil in her smile. I felt my stomach churn as I realized this was _her_. The one he wouldn't even name. "He was a lot different back then. I met Jason and Nate through him."

"Oh." I said as if I were remembering something. "You must be the one he told me about." Shane gave me a confused look, curious as to what I was up to. Thankfully, Caitlyn seemed to pick up on it.

"Oh, right. _That_ one." She said.

"Shane _told_ you about me?" She asked, a bit surprised. "I didn't think he'd tell _anyone_ about me. Especially not his precious girlfriend."

"Everyone makes mistakes. I can't blame him for dating you. You _are_ very pretty." I couldn't tell if she saw the veiled insult or not, but didn't dwell on it. Caitlyn caught it and that was enough.

She smiled tightly. "Thank you. But I'm sure he didn't tell you _everything_."

"Yeah, he did, Erica, so drop it." Nate informed her. "_You_ lied to _him_ and broke up with _him_. You don't get to be like this right now."

"What?" Shane and I asked together. "When did she lie to me?"

"She was never…" He wouldn't say 'pregnant' due to the many people around, "…and never thought she was. She was trying to fix her mistake of breaking up with you at the end of camp."

"How do you know that?" Shane demanded.

Nate smirked. "Her best friend wasn't half as cruel as she is."

Erica looked really uncomfortable. "Wow." I said. "And I thought Tess was cruel." Caitlyn looked at me laughing.

"Come on, guys." Shane said pulling me away. "I don't want to be here anymore."

We silently made our way back to Jason, who was _still_ playing Guitar Hero. A lot of the younger crowd were around the two, watching.

"How many times has he lost?" I asked someone.

"I don't think he's won yet." They said back. Shouts erupted as Jason lost _again_.

"Okay, okay, I give." Jason relented. "You are by far much better at this than me. How about you come dance with me?" He said holding out his hand. Anastasia passed someone else the guitar and took his hand. We all headed to the dance floor where Nicky still was.

After dancing for awhile, we finally conceded to going home. We girls were very tired. Actually, it was after Anastasia's brother dragged her away from us that we decided to stop. We exchanged numbers with her and Jason promised he'd call her tomorrow. We were happy for him. She seemed pretty normal, and Caitlyn and I liked her. She would be a good addition to our group.

Shane surprised Nicky when he told her she could sleep in his bed, he would take the couch. She looked at me in pure disbelief. "What have you done to him?"

We laughed as he kissed my cheek. "Made me fall in love." He answered sweetly. I wasn't alone in that feat, though. I knew I was more in love with him then I'd ever imagined possible.

Caitlyn and I were very tired the next morning and did _not_ want to go to school. Seriously, who has a party on a _Thursday_? Mom was gracious enough to let us stay home that day, explaining to the school that we hadn't planned on being out that late and we've learned our lesson.

"My feet hurt." I moaned around 11 o'clock sitting next to Caitlyn in the kitchen.

"Mine, too." She complained. "Dumb heels."

"I bet the guys' feet don't hurt." I mumbled.

"Do you think Stas' feet hurt?"

I shrugged and pulled out my phone. _Do your feet hurt?_ I sent Anastasia.

_Yes!_ She replied. _Stupid heels_. I laughed and we spent some time texting Anastasia. She lived in the city with her brother, not too far from the guys' apartment, so we opted to hang out at some point that weekend.

I received a message from Shane around noon, telling me to call him when I could after school.

I smiled and called him now, as I wasn't in school. "Hello?" He answered slightly confused.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked.

"Aren't you in school?"

"Nope." I laughed. "Too tired. Our feet hurt."

He laughed. "_Well_, I just got done with my meeting." He said happily. "_And_ guess what?"

"What?" I asked excitedly.

"They're going to make a deal with Uncle Brown. They want to buy Camp Rock so they can fully fund it. But they'll keep it under Uncle Brown's control and everything though. They also said they'd like some of their personnel to work their as instructors. Change up the classes a bit and stuff? Like Milo teaching a producing class and stuff."

"Oh my god! That'd be awesome." Caitlyn squealed. Her head had been pressed to mine, the phone between our ears.

"Ow, Cait." Shane winced.

"It was worse in person, believe me." I said pulling away and rubbing my ear. "But this is so awesome."

"There _is_ slightly bad news, too." He added. I held my breath waiting for him. "We're heading out next week to record the song, because they're moving up the release date of the CD. Because they're moving up the tour dates. So we can teach at Camp Rock."

"Seriously?!" Caitlyn and I both screamed. "Sorry." I apologized. "What is _bad_ about that?"

"We'll be gone for two weeks…" He said.

"So?" Caitlyn asked.

"Valentine's Day?" He asked. "Aren't girls like… obsessed with it?" Caitlyn and I slumped in our chairs a bit.

"No. _Some_ girls, but not us. If it means you'll be going to Camp Rock again, we're cool." I said calmly, though I knew we were both really disappointed.

"Okay. And, we're moving the tour up." He said slowly. "We start in April." I held my breath. My birthday was in April. "The day after your birthday we leave."

"That's fine, again. You'll be here _for_ my birthday."

"We'll be on tour for 3 and half months before you see us again." Again we slumped, even further this time.

"Well," Caitlyn said trying to be passive about it all. "We all knew it would happen eventually."

"Yeah, but we were hoping you'd be with us." Shane sighed.

"It's fine, Shane. Caitlyn and I have each other. And by that time, maybe Stas, too. And then we'll see you at Camp Rock."

"We can't '_be together' _at Camp Rock, though."

Caitlyn laughed. "Shane the world knows you two are dating."

"True, but we have to look professional while at camp. You and Nate, too, Cait." We'd slumped so much during this conversation our shoulder blades were practically touching the seat.

"Well, then, we'll just have to deal. Okay?" I said and Caitlyn agreed.

We got off the phone a few minutes later, but stayed slumped in our seats. Dad came in and looked at us weird.

"You okay?" He asked as he placed fast food in front of us. "Here, eat." Mom must have told me we stayed home. She was catering a luncheon today.

"No." We said together, sliding up into proper sitting positions. "Thanks, Daddy." I said.

"Thanks, Steve." Caitlyn mumbled behind her burger.

"Well, whatever is bothering you two will work out just fine." He said simply. "It always does in the end for you all." I smiled. Dad was right. It would all work out in the end. I hoped.

* * *

Not one of my best, but... it was necessary. Sorry.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks as always! I received a review saying it was hard to tell the difference between the scenes sometimes. As usual, I forget that fan fiction screws up the formatting. On my computer, the scenes have an extra space separating them and all the paragraphs are indented. I don't really look at them once I upload them. Is anyone having a major time telling the difference? If you are I'll find a way to separate them better.

Warning: Major time jumps in this one. It was another necessary, but longer and cuter chapter. We hit Valentine's Day and Mitchie's Birthday Party in this. The excitement starts up in the next one when Shane and the guys leave. The CaitlynxNate sex issue _will_ be discussed further and there is a tour surprise in store. A few actually, so hold out and make it through this chapter. Oh, and say hello to Jacob. :D

* * *

Chapter 15

The following day, Caitlyn and I raided the guys apartment to hang out with Anastasia. Jason didn't mind _at all_ and let us. Of course none of them thought we'd kick them out of _their_ apartment. We spent the entire time talking and just hanging out. We learned that Anastasia is 17, but will turn 18 in August. Until then, she's living with her brother and going to school in the City. Whenever we'd mention Jason she'd just smile happily and bite the corner of her lip.

We were laying in various positions on the floor and couch about ro watch a movie when the guys came back, bearing food. "What are we watching?" Nate asked dropping onto the couch at Caitlyn's feet.

"John Tucker Must Die." We all replied.

"Seriously?" Shane whined sitting on the floor next to my head. I immediately lifted my head into his lap. He seemed a bit surprised at first but ran his fingers through my hair a moment later.

"JTMD?" Jason asked excitedly laying down next to Anastasia, "Sweet!"

Anastasia looked over at him. "You like chick flicks?" She asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Jason watches chick flicks with us all the time." Caitlyn said shrugging.

"Aw. That's so cute." She cooed. Jason seemed to be blushing.

I looked up at Shane, "Did I see bags of food when you came in?" Shane nodded. I made a puppy dog face at him. He laughed but got up anyway. He came back with three bags of food and sodas for everyone. Everyone sat eating and laughing, the guys _actually_ enjoying the movie.

"Oh! That's wrong!" Nate and Shane cried as they saw a bunch of guys in thongs. We laughed at them and continued to watch.

"Now, was that _so_ bad?" I asked as the end credits rolled.

Shane and Nate sighed. "Except for the thong thing… it _was_ pretty funny." Shane relented. Nate nodded.

"Can we watch A Cinderella Story?" Jason asked. Shane and Nate groaned as we put the movie in.

"You actually _brought_ that?" Caitlyn and I shook our heads no.

"It's Jason's. So was John Tucker." I said simply.

"There is something _really_ wrong with you." Nate said shaking his head at Jason.

"I think it's cute. It just means you can appreciate things that other guys can't." Anastasia said. Jason smiled over at her thankful.

"Ya know, Stas," I said looking at from over Jason's head. "I think you fit with us _perfectly_."

"I agree!" Caitlyn threw in.

Jason nodded, "Yeah, me too."

The weeks passed and soon it was Friday. Or more specifically, Valentine's Day. We hung out with Anastasia a few more times, as well as Sierra a few times, too. Shane and Nate called Caitlyn and I as often as they could. Shane was constantly texting me between recordings. With all the school work we had, it was easy for us to forget they weren't there. There had been weeks when Caitlyn and I got so caught up with school we didn't see them. Usually, we talked more than this, but we made due. It wasn't as hard as we'd been expecting.

However, with it being Valentine's Day, we were depressed. All around the school there were hearts and arrows pinned to lockers and red streamers hanging from the ceiling. Caitlyn sighed as she sat on the floor next to my locker.

"What's wrong, Cait?" I asked.

"This is the first year I have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day… and I don't even _go to school with him_, much less _get to see him_!" She complained.

"I understand. Believe me." My phone vibrated, letting me know I had a message. _Jason asked me to be his Valentine_. Anastasia sent me.

_Awww! I hope you accepted!_ I sent back. "Jason asked Stas to be his Valentine."

Caitlyn smiled. "Aww! I haven't heard from mine yet. Have you?"

"Nope- wait, that's either him or Stas again." I opened my phone again and sure enough it was from Shane. _Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you like roses. I love you._

Caitlyn pulled out her phone and read the same message from Nate. "Weird." She said. I shrugged as Sierra walked up to us,

"Craig just asked me to be his Valentine." She gushed.

"Wait, Craig from AP Calculus, Craig?" I asked. She nodded giddily. "Aww. Good for you, Sierra." Caitlyn agreed.

We were sitting in home room listening to the mindless Valentine's Day chatter. Some girls had boxes of chocolate. Others had single roses, and some like Rosie had bouquets.

"Awe, Mitchie and Caitlyn didn't get anything? Oh right, you have big famous boyfriends who probably forgot." Rosie scoffed playing with her standard red roses. We were going to reply when someone knocked on the door. One of the kids who work in the main office during homeroom came in with flowers. He handed Caitlyn and I each 3 yellow roses bound together with a red ribbon with writing on the end.

"Love starts with friendship." He read to us. "Love Nate and Shane." We melted.

"Thank you!" We said smiling and smelling our flowers.

"Only 3? I'd have expected more." Rosie scoffed again. We ignored her.

"That's so sweet of them." I said sniffing the flowers again.

"It'd be nicer if they were wrapped in a ribbon being delivered to us, though." Caitlyn commented. I had to pause and think about that image.

"That's something Jason would do." I said in all seriousness. Caitlyn thought about too and agreed. "Stas has no idea what she's getting into." I giggled.

"I wonder if Jason sent her anything?" Caitlyn asked. I shrugged. "She'll text us if he does, right?" I nodded and we waited for the bell to ring..

Sporadically throughout the day, we received three more roses. In second period, our teacher passed us yellow roses with red tips. We read the ribbons on them ourselves. _Then we can fall in love._ During lunch, the lunch ladies placed our pink bouquets reading _We appreciate having you in our lives more than you truly know._ on our trays. Sixth period we found orange roses in our gym lockers. _You are our truest desires in life, _we read. The last class of the day, our teacher again gave us our flowers. Unlike the others, there were three individually colored roses bound together and a card for each of us, though they said the same thing.

_Dear Mitchie/Caitlyn, Yellow means friendship. Yellow with red tips symbolizes falling in love. Pink is for appreciation. Orange stands for desire. Lavender signifies love at first site. Red implies true love. And lastly white shows purity. A bouquet of three is known as an "I love you" bouquet. A bouquet of fifteen is an apology. If you add all of your bouquets together, you have fifteen roses. We're sorry we weren't able to be home for this, and we know you were lying when you said it didn't matter. I'll see you soon. I love you. Love, Shane/Nate._

We almost cried in the middle of class. Luckily for us, Rosie was in our class. "Oh wow. I think this is the most romantic thing I've ever seen." Caitlyn said smiling brightly.

"I think this is about equal with the ring." I agreed.

"What are you two going on about _now_?" Rosie sneered. She was mad by the time we had received the 3rd bouquet.

"Our boyfriends are amazing. That's what." Caitlyn said not bothering to explain further.

When we opened the front door after school, we were shocked to see the house flooded in flowers. "Mom?" I yelled, trying to get through the maze.

"In the rose free zone!" She called.

Caitlyn and I laughed. "Which is?" Caitlyn yelled back.

"My kitchen!" We made our way to the kitchen, amazed at all the flowers. "Here." She shoved cards into our hands. _You didn't think we were done, did you? Enjoy all the flowers._ "Now, why do I have all these flowers in my house if you have flowers in your hands?" We showed her the cards and then shrugged.

"I have no idea. Cait?" I asked. She shrugged in response. "How many _are_ there?"

"I lost count at 30 dozen. There are flowers in your room, in the living room, the dining room, up the stairs, in the hallways, and a few in my room."

"Oh wow. They've really out done themselves." Caitlyn laughed.

"Is that a bad thing?" I heard Nate's voice ask from my back doorway. Caitlyn and I turned around as fast as possible. Nate and Shane were standing there, smirking slightly.

"You don't like?" Shane asked.

"No, we _love_. We thought you were done after the incredibly sweet gesture at school." I smacked his chest lightly as he wrapped his arms around me. "I thought you weren't going to be here?"

"We weren't." He answered. "We worked through the night and had Lava fly us home at 4 this morning. We had already order all of the flowers and the cards and everything."

Happy to have our boyfriends home for Valentine's Day, we dragged them upstairs to our room. The only clear space was our beds. Nate and Shane looked sheepish as they looked around. "Okay, maybe we went over board with the flowers." Caitlyn and I laughed.

"Just a little." I smiled. "Maybe we could donate them to a hospital or something? I mean, they're pretty, but I can't handle living in the meadow." I laughed.

Nate nodded. "That'd be good PR for you and Caity." He said.

Cait smacked him. "Do you ever _not_ think about business?" He laughed.

"Sorry." He kissed her cheek in apology.

"I'm going to call the hospital now. We can take them tomorrow since it's Saturday."

We hung out with Shane and Nate, separately for a little while at one point, but mostly together. Mom made us an amazing dinner before going out with Dad for the night. Jason and Anastasia had gone out to dinner, _alone_. Something neither Shane and I nor Nate and Caitlyn had managed. After dinner, they showed up at my house to hang out.

The next day, Caitlyn and I loaded up the catering van with as many flowers as possible as well as Shane's car. Someone told the press what we were planning and they showed up at the hospital waiting for us.

Caitlyn and I began taking vases upon vases of flowers into the hospital. When we insisted on giving them out ourselves, the press seemed even more excited. Shane, Nate, Jason, Anastasia, Sierra, Mom, and Dad all helped us unload the flowers, but only Caitlyn and I handed them out. We gave a lot of the patients who would be in there for a while the flowers, but also a few new mothers, too. We took apart some of the vases and gave the little girls and younger teenagers in the hospital individual flowers instead of vases.

Sure enough, like Nate had predicted, we did get good PR from it, though that hadn't been on intention. HotTunes reported, _"Can Connect 3 get any sweeter? After sending their girlfriends multiple specifically chosen bouquets in school, the girls entered their home to find over 150 dozen flowers everywhere! In an act of generosity, Torres and Gellar, with the help of friends and family, delivered the flowers to the local hospital, personally handing out the flowers to patients. Grey says, "Nate and I went a little overboard and the girls immediate solution to the thousands of flowers was to donate them. They're truly amazing."_

Lava had been really impressed with us. Caitlyn and I shrugged it off. We would have done the same thing if our _famous rock star boyfriends_ weren't the reason we had all those flowers.

A few weeks later, Shane waltzed into the kitchen and sat down next to me. Caitlyn was upstairs studying while I was down here attempting to do the same. He placed a piece of paper in front of me. I turned it over to see it was the Camp Rock brochure.

"Camp Rock is back! And it's better than ever." I read the cover. "Brown made the deal?" I asked excitedly.

"Yup. And now we will all be at Camp Rock this summer. If Jason and Stas are still together, Brown's going to get her a job in the kitchen with the caterer."

"Caterer? No! You mean they're hiring Mom again?" Shane nodded. I squealed. "Oh my god! This is going to be the best summer ever."

"And, we found a way to lessen the time until we see you." He said even more excited. "You can come on tour with us the two weeks between school gets out and Camp Rock."

"Oh wow." I threw my arms around him. "You guys are a way too good to us." I kissed him deeply and things started getting carried away. We heard my father clear his throat a few minutes later.

"Hi, Mr. Torres." Shane said scratching the back of his neck as we pulled apart.

"You _can_ call me Steve, Shane." Dad corrected. "And please don't ever do that in the kitchen again." He shuddered. "I like to pretend she's still my little girl who doesn't have a boyfriend."

I laughed at him. "Dad…"

"What?" He asked innocently. I got up and hugged my dad's side.

"I'll always be your little girl, promise. You just gotta let me grow up sometime, okay?" He kissed my head and nodded. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Mitchie."

Shane had been watching us with a smile on his face. "I may like you, now, but I'll still hurt you if you hurt her." He said in a stern voice.

"I don't plan on it, but I'll keep it mind." Shane answered. I smiled.

I was _not_ looking forward to Shane leaving on tour, but I was definitely going to enjoy every minute I had with him until then. We spent the next 2 months together every possible moment we could. Between studying for SATs and rehearsals, it wasn't as much as we would've liked.

However, Shane had me excited for my birthday. He kept saying he had a surprise for me. I loved getting surprises from him. They weren't clichéd and if they were originally then he made them his own. Mom was throwing me a birthday party at the house for all my family and my friends the night before my birthday, on Saturday. On Sunday, the guys were having a going away party at their apartment. Monday morning at 6 am they'd be on the road to their first show of the tour.

"Can you please, please, please tell me?" I begged Caitlyn, who knew my surprise.

"Nope." She smiled. "You'll see." She laughed, "You'll find out later at your party. Relax!"

"I'm just so excited. I don't remember the last time I was this excited about my birthday!" I laughed.

"Wait 'til next year." Anastasia said entering the room. "You'll be even more excited for your 18th, then your 21st. After that, it'll fade."

"Way to be optimistic, Stas." Caitlyn laughed throwing a pillow at her. She shrugged.

"You're early." I commented.

She shrugged again. "Nothing better to do."

"Gee, I feel special." I said sarcastically as she simply laughed.

Four hours later, I was surrounded by my friends and family. At first, many of them seemed surprised to find Connect 3 in my house, but they eventually eased. Well except my cousin Steph who felt it necessary to drool at my boyfriend and friends. My cousin Jason felt it wise to not come, thankfully.

"Presents time!" Caitlyn said happily as we finished our cake. I opened every one else's gifts first, being forced to save Shane's surprise for last. Finally I only had to open Caitlyn's gift and then I could receive my surprise.

"Here." Caitlyn passed me a bag. I opened it and pulled out a dog bowl, doggy treats, and a chew toy.

"Caitlyn? Why did you get me _dog_ stuff?" I asked, completely confused. Shane walked in a moment later, though I hadn't noticed he left, carry a blanket in his arms. The blanket was wiggling. As he placed the blanket in my arms it barked. "Oh my god!" I laughed moving the blanket to see a curly haired black puppy staring up at me with the cutest eyes I'd ever seen. "Shane…" I cooed. "Does it have a name?"

"Well, the people I got him from named him Jacob when he was born, but-" I didn't listen to him after that I just started talking to Jacob, my puppy.

I wouldn't put him down for almost a half an hour. I had to when people to started to leave. Once most people had left, Shane picked up Jacob and carried him upstairs, pulling me with him. He laid the puppy on my bed and Jacob whined slightly until we were both on the bed with him.

"He's so cute. I love it. What made you decide to get me a puppy?" I asked.

"I figured I've given enough jewelry in the last couple of months. And I figured having a curly haired _puppy_ might keep you company while I'm gone."

I wanted to cry. "Like the curly haired baby I want someday." He nodded. "Shane…" I hugged him. Jacob was feeling neglected and wiggled his way between us.

"Someone seems jealous." Shane teased the puppy, petting him.

"Oh, what am I going to do with him while I'm on tour with you or at Camp Rock?"

Shane laughed, "You really think I didn't think all of this out?" He shook his head. "You can bring him with you on tour. And as for Camp Rock… your mom, Stas, even Brown will help when we can't."

"We?" I asked looking up from Jacob.

He blushed a little. "Well, I've bonded with him for the last week he's been at my apartment."

"So, he's not just mine, is he?" I asked. "He's ours?"

Shane smiled at me. "If you want him to be."

"Absolutely." I kissed Shane. Jacob barked and pawed Shane's chest. Suddenly, Shane leaving didn't seem as lonely as it had.

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We've hit the 45,000 word mark. Woo! And so ya'll know, it's 4:36 am EST as I write this!


	16. Chapter 16

I'm glad you guys all loved the roses and Jacob. It took a lot of research to get the flowers right. And I haven't yet read Twilight, so the Jacob thing is a little lost on me. It's actually my ex's middle name, which I love. So, this chapter is the emotional good-byes. I apologize if it's a little short. It's not too bad, though. Enjoy. :D

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Chapter 16

I woke up Sunday morning with Jacob curled up next to me. He was too adorable. Shane never stops amazing me. I didn't wake the little guy up and crawled out of bed. Caitlyn and Anastasia were still asleep, but I couldn't be anymore. It was early, but I knew Mom would be up. Sure enough she was making breakfast already, and I could hear her in the kitchen. I crept through the living room, smiling at the sight of Shane, Nate, and Jason passed out on the floor. They'd stayed so late last night Mom didn't want them driving home.

I moved past them into the kitchen. "Need help?" I asked quietly moving over to where she was scrambling eyes.

Mom smiled at me. "Well, since you're up before him, why don't you get Jacob's food out of the cabinet under the sink where Shane put it. I think his bowl is out in the living room."

I nodded and made my way back to living room. I tried to be as quiet as possible but I still woke Nate up. "Mitch?" I mumbled looking up at me.

"Go back to sleep, Nate." I laughed softly.

"Okay." He dropped his head back down and went back to sleep.

I laughed and made my way back to the kitchen. I poured Jacob's food and water into the bowls and placed them on the floor in the holder. I stood up and felt arms wrap around me. I tried to turn around, but Shane was holding me rather tightly with his face buried into my back.

"Shane." I laughed.

"Uhm." He replied, holding tighter.

"Babe. Off." I said smacking his hand lightly. He gave in and let me turn around.

He kissed me quickly. "Morning."

"Morning." I laughed. "Why are you awake already?"

"You and Nate woke me up." He looked over at Mom who wasn't paying attention to us and whispered very quietly, "And I have this inability to sleep when I know my girlfriend is awake and not in bed with me."

I smiled. "Shane…" I giggled. Then we heard a soft whining noise and slight scratch. "I guess I forgot to leave the door open for him." I was about to head back up stairs when Jacob came running past me and to the door. He whined again and nudged Shane. Shane laughed and slipped on his sneakers that had been discarded the night before. I slipped on my own sneakers and we put his leash on him.

It was cold out when we left, making me wish I had grabbed a jacket. Shane didn't seem bothered by the cold though he was wearing just his undershirt. "Cold?" He asked, wrapping his arm around me.

I nodded. "A little."

He smirked. "I guess it's a good thing we weren't at my house." I looked at him confused. "You'd be wearing even less." I blushed and smacked him slightly. He kissed my head.

"Just remember who's gong to be all alone in their bed and who will have company every night." I said teasing him.

He pouted. "Okay, maybe _I_ should take Jacob. You can share a bed with Caitlyn or Stas for all I care."

I mock gasped. "No! How dare you try and take my puppy. Besides, you could always share a bed with Nate or Jason." He shuddered at the thought and I laughed.

Jacob ran around my entire neighborhood, peeing about eight times. When we finally brought him back in, it was half an hour later and breakfast was done. Everyone but Dad and Jason were now awake.

Jacob had woken Caitlyn and Anastasia up, but they didn't seem to mind. Caitlyn and Nate were curled up on one end of the couch and Anastasia was curled up on the other. They watching cartoons. Jacob ran over to Jason and started licking him. Jason smiled in his sleep. Getting annoyed, Jacob barked at Jason, finally waking him up. "Wha? Oh, hey Jake!" He petted Jacob who barked happily before running back over to me.

"Go eat, pup." I pointed to the kitchen. He looked at me oddly. "Okay, fine." I picked him up and carried him to his food. Once he realized it was okay to eat, he started in on it. Shane and I laughed and helped Mom bring all the food out into the dining room.

I yelled up the stairs, "Dad! Breakfast!" A moment later my father came down. Caitlyn and Nate came in and sat on one side of the table, while Anastasia and Jason sat on the other. Mom was seated next to Dad, who was at the head of the table, leaving Shane at the other end with me next to him. We all began eating and laughing happily. I looked around felt at ease. This was how my family was supposed to be. I loved my real family, but _this_ was my _family_. When we were older, I knew we'd still be just as close, and it would seem like noting had changed. Suddenly, Mom got quiet looking around as well.

"What's wrong, Mom?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing." She tried to pass it off. "It's just, going to be weird." She admitted. "To go back to making dinner for 4 people instead of 7 or 8." We all looked down, remembering the guys would be gone by this time tomorrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring you guys down."

"It's okay, Connie. I don't think any of us have forgotten about it." Caitlyn said looking down at her eggs. All of us shook our heads no. After we realized how in sync it was, we began laughing, and the mood was lifted again.

The guys left after breakfast. Anastasia had been planning on spending the night to begin with, and would be our ride to the guys' party later. We spent the rest of the day hanging out until it was time to get ready.

"My god. You take forever." Anastasia complained laying on my bed. Caitlyn and I stuck our tongues out.

"Your hair isn't ridiculously curly." Caitlyn argued.

"Or ridiculously straight." I added.

Sticking out her tongue back, Anastasia replied, "No, it's ridiculously wavy so I've got the worst of both worlds." We laughed.

"You should see how long it takes Shane and Nate to do _their_ hair in the morning. Nate woke up _before_ me and it still took him until about when I was done with mine." Caitlyn laughed.

"Oh, right. You and Nate spent Christmas out at his place in PA, right?" Anastasia asked.

"Yup." Caitlyn said.

"I was gonna say, you've woken up with Nate? Hmm… Miss Gellar you've some explaining to do." Anastasia teased, but at the shared look between Caitlyn and I, she stopped laughing. "Wait, you _have_? I thought they all wore purity rings?"

"It was a mistake. Heat of the moment thing. We haven't since, but…" Caitlyn explained hurried.

"Chill, Cait. I won't judge. Believe me. I'm the _last_ person who will judge you. My brother is the result of premarital sex. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here."

"Wow. I didn't know that. I thought you had your own purity ring?" I asked, since we'd actually talked about this before.

"I do. I have it because of my parents and my brother, because while I understand they were in love, yada yada, and they didn't mean for it to happen, I don't want it to happen to _me_. I wanted to give myself a bit of a barrier to keep my self from repeating their mistake. I don't want to even risk having kids until I'm married. No matter how good sex supposedly is." She explained.

Caitlyn nodded, "Makes sense. I think that was what Nate's point was. He wanted to keep the band from getting caught up in the rock star life and girls using them, and possibly ruining their careers."

"Oh! That's why he was upset _after_ the Erica thing but didn't think twice about sleeping with you!" I put together. "He knows you aren't out to get his money or fame. Were Erica was."

"Erica?" Anastasia interrupted.

"Shane's ex-girlfriend." I answered simply. "Not our story to share."

Anastasia raised her hands in understanding. "Got it. Say no more. Are you girls ready yet?"

"Am I sleek and curly?" Caitlyn asked turning to her. Anastasia nodded.

"Am I sleek and straight?" I asked.

"Yes, you two are good. Now let's go!" She cried pulling us downstairs.

"Bye, Mom!" I yelled. Jacob ran over to me. "Bye, Jacob. I'll be home later." I petted him softly. He whined a little but barked happily as I left.

By the time we made it to the apartment, the party had been in full swing for a while. Fashionably late, but what did we care?

"Mitchie! Caitlyn! Stas?" Nicky yelled running over to us. "I didn't know you guys were that close."

"Jason and I have been dating since Valentine's Day, Nicky." Anastasia explained laughing.

"Oh, cool. Another older sister." Nicky hugged Anastasia for a moment.

We stood around talking to Nicky for a while. I felt arms wrap around me and a kiss press into my shoulder. I turned my head and kissed Shane's cheek. "Hey."

"Can I steal you?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Ask them." I gestured to the other three girls.

"Girls?" He pouted.

They laughed. "Convince us why." Anastasia said teasing him.

"Hmm, because Jason and Nate would like to see their girlfriends as well?"

Realization hit the two of them as they remembered they hadn't seen their boyfriends yet. Shane started to pull me away as they took off in search of their boyfriends.

"No! Mitchie you can't leave me!" Nicky said grabbing my hand.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"_Riley_ is here." She whined.

"And?" I asked.

"He keeps looking at me."

"And? I thought you liked him?"

"I _do_." She whined.

"Not seeing the problem," I laughed.

"I haven't seen him/talked to him since the party." She pouted.

"Ooh. I get it. You didn't like him then, because you had a boyfriend. Now, you don't and your worried you'll make a fool out of yourself." I surmised.

Nicky mumbled, "Basically."

I laughed as Riley made his way over to us. "Suck it up."

"Wha-" She started saying before Riley wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Hi Riley." I greeted. "Did you come to rescue Nicky again?"

"Actually," He laughed. "I came to rescue Shane, who looks like he'd much rather have his girlfriend in private." I laughed as Shane nodded a bit. "By consequence that means I have to distract Nicky, which gives me an excuse to hang out with her all night again." Nicky was blushing.

"By all means, take her." Shane said pulling me away. "Love you, Nick!" He called over his shoulder.

I laughed and collapsed onto his bed. He closed the door behind us, but not completely. He didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea. He laid next to me and pulled me into his arms. We laid in silence for a while before Shane finally spoke.

"I'm going to miss you." He whispered into my hair.

"I know. I'm going to miss you, too." I whispered back. Laughing, I added, "So is Jacob. He misses you already."

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss him, too."

"It'll be over before you know it. We get out June 18."

"Ugh, that's so late!" He complained.

"No, actually that's early." I laughed.

"No, actually that's late compared to Massachusetts. I got out the end of May every year."

"Wow. That's super early for me." I laughed.

"You should transfer to a school in Mass so you can come on tour earlier." He suggested.

"Or not." I replied.

We talked for a little while longer before Nicky came bounding in the room and jumped on the bed next to me.

"Ohmygod!Rileyjustkissedme!" She squealed.

Shane and I looked at her. "What?" Shane asked utterly confused.

"Riley just kissed me… and I kissed him back, but then I freaked and ran in here!" She explained.

"Oh wow!" I said ignoring Shane who was now complaining. I rolled over so I was looking up at her from my side instead of twisting. Shane tightened his arm around me and pretended to ignore us.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I don't have a lot of experience in this, sorry."

"Oh my god!" Shane groaned. "Just go back out there, find Riley, apologize. Tell him you really like him and that you got a little excited. Make that annoying puppy dog face you always make and ask him to forgive you. He'll probably say something about thinking it was cute and things will move on. Now go away!"

Nicky and I looked at him confused, but Nicky shrugged and left. "What was that?" I asked turning back over.

"That was me getting my sister to go away so I can spend time with my girlfriend." He kissed me.

Nicky had left the door open, and now the sounds of the party were pumping into the room full blast.

"We should really be out at that party, Shane." I said sitting up. He groaned and followed. When we left the room, I saw Nicky and Riley talking. Nicky pouted a bit and said something. Riley laughed and kissed her again. I think Nicky almost fainted. "Good work, big brother." I said pointing to where his baby sister was making out with a guy.

"She has to grow up sometime. Riley fears me. He's still new in this business and knows he shouldn't make too many waves."

"Wow. You amaze me." I laughed pulling him over to Caitlyn and Nate. They were dancing and making out. Shane and I spent the rest of the night with them dancing.

"Darn. It's like 11:30 already and we have school in the morning." Caitlyn said when she and Nate took a break.

"Already?" Nate pouted.

"Man." Shane complained. He saw Riley and Nicky dancing not too far from us. "Riley!' He called out to him. Riley appeared almost instantly. "We're gonna take the girls home. Jason should be able to handle things until we get back, but keep an eye out please?"

Riley nodded. "Good night, ladies." He bowed to us before heading back to Nicky, who waved good-bye at us.

"I haven't seen Kevin all night." I suddenly realized.

Shane laughed and pointed to the corner. "Kevin has been making out with his girlfriend the entire night, that's why." I laughed. For being 15, the two of them seemed to party a lot. And miss a lot of school.

Jason walked over to us with Anastasia. "You guys leaving?" He asked pouting.

"We have school." I answered hugging him.

"I'm gonna miss you, Mitchie!' He cried. "If you need to talk, just call. You can totally leave me like 40 voicemails and I will definitely listen to them all."

I laughed, tears stinging my eyes. "I know you will, Jase. I know you will." I hugged him even tighter. "I'm gonna miss you, too." Next it was Caitlyn's turn, who hugged him just as tightly and cried a little as well.

Of course, these good-byes weren't half as hard as the ones to come later on. I said good-bye to Nate while Caitlyn said good-bye to Shane. It was tearful, but not too bad. However, when Shane and I went inside to say good-bye so he could say good-bye to Jacob, I almost lost it all together.

"Hey." He whispered lifting my chin as it trembled. Tears had weld up in my eyes but hadn't yet fell. "Everything is going to be fine. I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?"

I wrapped my arms around his waist and cried into his chest. He held me as long as possible. Eventually Jacob started whining and we pulled apart. Shane squatted and petted him. "I'll see you soon, too, pup. Okay?" He spoke to the puppy. "Mommy'll have to do 'til I get back, okay?" I wanted to cry even harder. I might have.

"I'll be home soon enough." Shane whispered to me as he stood back up.

"No you won't." I teased. "I'll be coming to see you and then we'll be at Camp Rock."

"No." He shook his head. "Home is where the heart is. And when you're with me, I'm home." He said honestly. I know I was crying uncontrollably at that point.

He kissed me one last time and left. Caitlyn came in crying as well. As we climbed into my bed together, we cried a lot. Jacob laid between us and kept rolling on his back, looking between the two of us. Eventually, having no idea what was going on, he started crying, too.

Laughing through our tears, Caitlyn and I managed to fall asleep relatively peaceful after that.

My computer is going to revolt soon. I have the entire story written/saved in one file for easier refrencing while writing. The file is now 115 pages long and 48,000+ words. Then I have each chapter saved individually. If Jensen quits on me, you'll know why. ;p


	17. Chapter 17

Longest chapter ever. 4,000+ words. The longest prior to this? 3,700. I've had the solution to the tour since I came up with the problem. A schoolmate of mine did something similar during Sophomore year, except he's an amazing drummer. Anyway, super long, a little pointless in places, and definitely fluffed up in some places. Thank you for putting up with the last few chapters of fillerness. After this chapter we get to the part I have lot's of ideas for. I think. I dunno, half my ideas go haywire while I'm writing. I hope you enjoy. And don't expect another chapter this long for a while.

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Chapter 17

I felt my face being licked when I woke up. I giggled a bit as Jacob's tongue ran across my cheek. "Guess you need to get walked huh?" He barked and I made a shushing noise. Caitlyn was asleep right next to us. He dropped his head a bit. I smiled at him as a pulled on shoes and a jacket. "Come on." I whispered opening the door. He took off ahead of me.

He was sitting next to the door waiting for me when I made it to the kitchen. I chuckled and clipped his leash on. I laughed realizing his collar was green. "Looks like Daddy is the one who bought your collar, huh, pup?" I petted him, unknowing that my mother stood behind me.

"Daddy, huh?" She asked. I stood up quickly, scaring Jacob a bit.

"Well, uh, I… um." I had no idea how to explain referring to Shane as 'Daddy' to my mother. She laughed at me.

"Don't worry, I heard you last night when you were saying good-bye." She shrugged.

"Mom! You were listening?" I blushed.

She smiled. "Maybe. That boy is very good with words. No wonder he's a song writer. You better walk him soon." Mom nodded down at Jacob who looked like he was going to burst at any moment.

"Oh!" I quickly opened the door and he took off, pulling me with him. He peed in the yard once before we just walked around. I looked at my phone and saw it was about 6:30. I decided to call Shane, knowing he would be on the bus already.

"Hey, baby." He answered sleepily. "Why are you up already?"

I laughed. "Someone had to pee."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Did he lick you?" He asked laughing slightly.

"Yup. I'm guessing that was the only way he was able to get you up, huh?"

Sheepishly, he replied, "Yeah. Sorry. So what are you doing?"

"Walking, Jacob. I don't normally get up for another half hour, so I figured I'd let him enjoy being outside for a while."

"Mmm… you cold again? It was pretty cold when we got on the bus."

I laughed. "No, I remembered my jacket. But thank you for asking."

"Gotta make sure you okay, since I'm not there to keep you warm."

I sighed. "Where are you guys?"

"I don't even know. Nate, where are we?" I heard him ask. Nate muttered something I couldn't hear through the phone. "Nate says he thinks we're in leave him the hell alone." I laughed. "Connecticut, I think."

"Are you dropping your brother and sister off at school or home or something in Mass?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're taking them to school, despite my sister's protests. She's sleeping right now, though. I'm sure you'll get a phone call later about Riley." Shane said softly.

Nicky and had come a long way from our first meeting. Now, we weren't just civil, we were more like sisters. She called me a lot to vent about different things. Having only two brothers and no real _girl_ friends, it was hard to talk to someone. I gladly listened to everything she said.

"Probably." I laughed. "Hey, it's almost 7, I'm gonna take him in and get ready for school, okay?"

He sighed. "Uh huh. Love you."

"Love you, too." I hung up and called Jacob over to me. He pulled his head out the flower bed he'd been sniffing. As he got closer to me, he stopped and sneezed. The poor thing sneezed about 4 times before I cleaned all of the pollen of his nose.

"Breakfast ready, yet, Mom?" I asked coming in with Jacob.

"Not yet. Why don't you go get dressed and wake Caitlyn up for me." I nodded and headed upstairs. Mom had already put Jacob's food out for me, so he stayed in the kitchen and ate.

"Come on, Cait. Time to get up." I threw my thermal at her as I walked into the closet. She groaned but got up anyway. 15 minutes later we were on our way back downstairs. Jacob was on the floor playing with his chew toy and Mom had been listening to HotTunes in the background. It was a little scary sometimes to see her singing and dancing to our generation's music. After a few minutes, the morning report came on. There were a few miscellaneous things on there at first, but then a picture of Shane and I from the day before showed. I groaned.

"_Smitchie's got a puppy. Grey and Torres were seen yesterday morning clad in pajamas walking an energetic little pup in Torres' neighborhood. Grey and the rest of Connect 3 start their Play My Music Tour today, with their first show tomorrow night."_

"What poses people to have concerts on Tuesday nights in _April_?" I asked.

Caitlyn laughed. "You don't care that they talked about your puppy, they have a picture of you in your pajamas, or that the press now knows where we live, but that there is a concert on a Tuesday night?"

I shrugged and ate my breakfast. "I don't really care anymore. The press is always going to be there. We just need to stay on their good side, Cait."

"True." She agreed. "Did Shane text you yet?" She asked.

"No. I called him at 6:30 when I walked Jacob." She nodded. "Did Nate text you?"

"Yeah. At like 6 to tell me he was tired and going back to sleep. He'd text me around lunch." She laughed.

"Yeah, he's particularly crank this morning. Trust me." I laughed.

That was pretty much the way life went. Every morning I got up and walked Jacob at 6:30. If Shane was awake, he called me and kept me company while Jacob ran around. Caitlyn and I would get ready for school, eat, and then deal with the stupidity known as high school. Rosie felt the need to make it as hellish as possible.

"Gee, I wouldn't trust my boyfriend to be on tour without me." She commented. "Especially if my boyfriend were in the hottest group out there."

"Wow, Rosie. Thanks." Caitlyn smiled at her. "You're right, they are the hottest out there. Glad you see that, too."

"You really trust them to not do anything _wrong_? They have _lots_ of fan girls."

"Okay, see, this is why _we_ date rock stars and _you_ drool over them." I said, getting annoyed. "They're _people_. They have _morals_. They _love_ us. And we _trust_ them. Unlike people like you, who see them as big famous rock stars and that's it. Not every famous musician has to be the same and fit the stereo type you force on them." I smiled in triumph as she shrunk in her seat a little and didn't say anything else for the rest of the period. Mitche and Cait: 204, Rosie: 0.

We did trust them. And even if we didn't, Anastasia brother was on tour with them. He promised Anastasia he'd keep an eye out and tell her if he saw anything seriously wrong. But we didn't think that would happen, not when we were always hearing about how much they missed us.

We missed them just as much. Sierra was beginning to get annoyed, but understood. It had only been 4 days since they left, but the limited communication was straining. "I vote we move the Massachusetts!" I cried dropping my head onto my arms on the table.

The other two laughed. Caitlyn agreed. "I wish, Mitch. But you know we can't."

"I just wish there was some way we could get out sooner." I sighed.

"You could take your finals early." Sierra suggested.

"How would that help?" Caitlyn asked.

"Well, my sister was going on a summer exchange program to Europe, so they let her take her finals in May, and she still got credit and everything."

Caitlyn and I shared a look. It was the middle of April. If we talked to Mom immediately, she could talk to the principal, and then we could be on the tour at least 2 weeks sooner. "Sierra." Caitlyn turned to her. "I love you!" She hugged Sierra so tight, I think Sierra started to turn colors.

When we talked to Mom, she promised to talk to Anastasia's brother about it, and then to the principal. Though, we wouldn't say anything to the guys just yet.

On one particular morning, about two weeks after they left, Nate was awake while I was on the phone with Shane. He was sitting next to Shane, strumming mindlessly on the guitar.

"Tell Nate that sounds good." I laughed through the phone.

"She says that sounds good." Nate laughed, Thanks, through the phone, "Okay, ignoring him, now." Shane said sighing. "_How_ long until I can be with you again?" Shane whined.

"Soon enough, Shane." I replied.

"I can't handle this much longer. Every day without you here with me is painful."

"Dude! I got it!" I heard Nate exclaim.

"What?" Shane asked him.

"Just, just keep talking to Mitchie. I'll show you later."

"Ookay, crazy one." Shane laughed. "I think he's going through Caitlyn withdraw."

"Yeah. She's going through Nate withdraw, too. We were hoping dreaming about you would help, but it doesn't much."

"I told you, Mitch, dreams can't even compare when you're in love." He laughed.

I laughed, too, before seeing the time. "Oh, time to go in. I'll talk to you later, okay?" I heard him sigh. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I hated getting off the phone every time I did, but I couldn't help it. I had to go to school. Mom hadn't gotten back to us on the whole getting out early thing yet. Hopefully she would soon.

I sighed, and pushed open the door, letting Jacob run inside. He took off his leash and he ran to his bowl, where mom had his food waiting already.

"Mitchie. When you and Caitlyn are done getting ready, I need to talk to you." Mom said as I headed up stairs.

"Okay!" I called back heading upstairs.

"Come on, Cait. Mom wants to talk to us. Hurry up. I'm hoping it's about going on tour." Caitlyn shot out of bed and ran past me, into the closet to grab clothes.

We made it downstairs in a record time that morning. Mom laughed as we sat quietly, waiting for her to tell us whatever it was. She was still cooking since we were early. "I talked to Anastasia's brother, John. He's very nice. He's worried about her being by herself in his apartment."

"Oh." I said, not sure where this was going.

"I also talked to your principal." She said turning around with the pan of scrambled eggs in her hand. She kept talking while she split the eggs. "Since you are passing all of your classes, and you have only missed 2 or 3 days of school each, he's decided that _if_ you pass _all_ of your finals with an 80 or better, he will let you end the year early and give you full credit."

"What if we don't get an 80 on all of them? Are they really going to not let us go if we get a 79 on one of them?" I asked. Finals and midterms were _not_ my strong suite.

"Depending on the class, you will have to continue doing the school work and email your teachers with it once a week." Caitlyn and I sighed in relief. "And that's only if you pass the rest of your finals." Mom reminded us.

"We will. We will study our butts off!" I said excitedly.

"We promise!" Caitlyn said equally excited. "Do the boys know?"

"No. We thought you might like to surprise them." Caitlyn and I grinned. This was going to be so awesome.

We had told Anastasia, who would of course be coming with us. She had enough credits to graduate already, and was only in school to keep her occupied until starting college in the fall. She talked to her school already, and as long as we were going, she was coming, too. She didn't want to go until we did, knowing that Shane and Nate were liable to through hissy fits. Rather than cause drama with the guys, she and Jason opted to wait for everyone.

Shane and Nate could tell something was definitely up with us. We were abnormally hyper and happy when we would talk to them. Shane questioned me many times and kept getting the same answer: "We must be losing our minds without." Knowing him as well as I do, I knew he would glare at the wall or the phone every time I said it.

So we _thought_ taking our exams early would be awesome. They weren't. "I think my brain is going to explode." Caitlyn whimpered two weeks later during lunch. We had been studying and taking test for the last week. Today was our last day, and if as soon as our morning exams got our scores back, we would know if would flying out tonight or not. If we didn't pass our last exam, we would do the work on the tour. They arranged the exams so that English was last. We could easily do English work while on tour.

"I don't think I've ever seen Mitchie study so hard in her life." Sierra laughed at us. Study as much as we had, with her help, was her forte. You don't get an A-plus in AP Mandarin if you _don't_. We laughed, knowing she was right.

"Mitchie, Caitlyn." Our guidance counselor came over to our table. "Good news, girls. Caitlyn you passed all of your exams. Mitchie, you were close-" My face fell. "But you managed a 79.6 on your math exam which rounds up to an 80." I screamed.

"Seriously?" Caitlyn cried. "Yes!" We were jumping up and down like idiots, not caring that the entire cafeteria was watching us. People who knew what was up yelled in congratulations for us. After the counselor walked away, rubbing her ear, Rosie felt the need to approach us.

"Yeah, you _sure_ trust your boyfriends." She quipped.

"We do. But hearing them tell us how much they miss us, it gets tiring. Of course, if the many Connect 3 fans who get worse and worse shows because the guys are all moody get upset, we'll be sure to blame you." Caitlyn replied,

"Come on, let's go call Stas. We can leave right after school." I pulled Caitlyn and Sierra with me. Now, I'm sure you're wondering, 'Oh no, poor Sierra.' She'll be all alone, right? No. Remember Craig from Calculus? They've been steady since then. She'll just relocate to his table of nerds.

"Stas!" We yelled into the phone as she answered. Luckily, we have lunch during the same time. "We passed!"

She screamed back. "I will so be at your house when you get home. I'm going to go sign out of school."

"Bye." We hung up as the bell rang. "Test time." I said smiling. Caitlyn groaned.

Two hours later, we were cleaning out our lockers. I smiled at all of the Camp Rock and Connect 3 stuff I had in mine. Caitlyn finished first, as usual. "I remember that." She smiled looking at the picture in my hands. It was Caitlyn and I after Final Jam. Shane and I had just sung. She and I were jumping around laughing.

"Yeah. That was after I talked to Shane for the first time since he yelled at me."

"Wow. We've come a long way since Camp Rock, huh?" Caitlyn sighed.

"I know. Look at us, now, going on tour with our rock star boyfriends."

"You _do_ realize they _are_ going to make you and Shane perform the duet, _right_?" She asked. "You're famous, too, now, Mitchie."

I looked down at first and then I smiled up at Caitlyn again. "We are, aren't we?"

She gave me a confused look. "I said _you_."

"Whatever you say, Naitlyn." I sang at her.

"I'm _so_ going to get you, _Smitchie_." She chased me down the hall. I stopped before she did and started laughing. "What?"

"Janastasia or Jastasia?" I asked in mild seriousness. She shook her head and laughed as well. Thankfully, there were no classrooms in the front of the school, and there were only lockers on both sides except for the main stair case and the front doors.

We found ourselves saying good-bye to Mom and Dad three hours later. "I'll call you all the time, Mom, promise." I cried, hugging her.

"And we'll see you at Camp Rock, right?" Caitlyn said crying as well, hugging Mom.

"And Dad, we'll see you for Final Jam, okay?' I hugged him. Caitlyn latched on as well.

"We'll miss you so much, Steve." He hugged us back while Mom cried.

Jacob whine in his carrying case next to Anastasia. "Time to go, girls." Dad said pushing us gently toward Anastasia who was by the private jet Lava was flying us out on.

"Tell the boys we said hello and that we miss them." Mom called as we boarded the plane. "Love you!" She yelled one last time as they started closing the door behind us.

Collapsing into a seat, I smiled. Jacob wanted out of the carrier, but I wasn't allowed to let him run around. "Shh, pup. You'll be seeing Daddy in a little while." I petted him slightly through the bars.

"Daddy?" Anastasia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Blame Shane." I answered, smiling. "He called me Mommy first."

"I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep." Caitlyn said, curling up into a ball. Anastasia and I agreed and got comfortable, too.

"Girls." Someone was nudging us. "Mitchie, Caitlyn, Anastasia." I opened my eyes to find Rich shaking us. "Come on. We've got to get you back to the bus before the guys realize I left during a show." He smiled at us as we suddenly snapped awake and began moving around the small plane.

Rich took my bag for me as I carried Jacob's cage. Anastasia and Caitlyn carried their own bags. Rich laughed at us as we kept talking excitedly. 15 minutes later, we pulled up to a crowd stadium. You could hear the band inside. Rich lead us to the bus.

"Donnie will show you around the bus, but I have to get back in there." He pointed toward the stadium as the door to the bus opened. "Costume change is in 15." He ran off. We liked him a lot better than Chris. He was nicer.

"Hello, ladies, my name is Donnie." A small balding man said to us from the door way.

"Hi." I said. "I'm Mitchie."

"I know who each one of you are. The boys never stop talking about you." We all blushed. "Come on, come on. There is lots to show you and some rules I've been told to explain see as I'll be the one enforcing them."

We quickly filled on the bus, and Donnie made sure to close and lock the door behind us. "Can I let him out of his carrier?" I asked, gesturing to Jacob.

"Sure." Donnie said. "Your mom warned us of the puppy, and said he'll go by the door if you don't take him out soon enough. So, we have a piddle box for him. We made him a little stand thing to go in the stairway over there," He pointed to the door. "This way the box will stay straight and not knock over if the bus hits a bump."

"Sounds good." I said, a little disturbed. I let Jacob out and he started sniffing around, no doubt smelling Shane. He ran off to the back after a moment and started barking and sniffing like crazy. "What's back there?"

"That would be the beds. Pup probably picked up Shane's sent the strongest back there." I nodded. "Okay, up here," he pointed to the bed above the front of the bus, "Is where I sleep." We nodded. He pointed out various other locations on the bus. There was a couch, a small 4 person booth-table thing, and a small kitchen area. "When the bus is parked and the guys are hanging out, the side of the bus slides out. The table and the couch can be made into extra beds, but we won't need them." He moved to the back of the bus where Jacob still was.

"This is the bathroom. I wouldn't suggest leaving certain items in there unless you want to freak the boys out. _Then_ by all means do. It doesn't bother me. Grew up with 4 sisters." We blushed, not expecting him to mention that.

"You'll have to take quick showers. However, we will stop at truck stops along the way and hotels as well, so you'll get normal showers occasionally."

"Now, this is where I have to lay down the rules. There is _one_ large bedroom for all of you. There are two full sized bunk beds. Meaning, _four_ beds. When the bus' side is open, there's lots of space between the two bunks. However, when it isn't, like now, they touch. There is a small closet for the next days clothes only. Your bags will all be stored under the beds and under the bus. Now. I don't care who sleeps where mostly. The three of you can share the bottom and the guys can share the top, or the three couples can split off. Whatever. However, if I see, hear, or even think there is something going on that is inappropriate, I _will_ be forced to make sleeping arrangements. Am I understood?" We nodded. "Good. Feel free to explore." He went back to the driver's seat and picked up the newspaper.

"Okay, can we be excited now?" Caitlyn asked. Together, the three of us started jumping up and down and screaming. We saw Donnie look up at us in the review mirror smiling. We immediately stopped.

"So, I _totally_ claim a bottom bunk with Shane." I said picking Jacob up, who had been laying on one of the bunks sniffing a pillow.

"Works for me." Caitlyn shrugged.

"Yeah, me, too." Anastasia agreed. "_So_, what do we do now?" She said sitting on the couch.

"Wait another hour for the guys?" I suggested. They shrugged. Almost two hours later, the girls and I had changed for bed, and had been hanging out on the couch talking to Donnie and getting to know him. Caitlyn teased me when I didn't put on my thermal. Forgive me for liking to feel my boyfriend's bare skin. I teased her back as she had also worn a tank top to bed instead of her usual tee.

"Shh. Here come the guys." Donnie said turning around.

"I don't know, Shane!" Nate yelled. "Caitlyn's not answering either, so chill!"

"_Why_ did we come on tour again?" Shane asked angrily.

"So we could go to Camp Rock." Jason answered oblivious. "But relax, guys, they're probably doing something. Would you rather them be out having fun, or sitting around missing you?"

I tried to keep Jacob quiet, but I couldn't. As they got closer, he recognized Shane's voice. When the guys opened the door, he began barking and ran out of the bus.

"Jake?" I heard Shane say picking him up. "Jacob!" Shane laughed. Nate and Jason fought each other to get into the bus as they realized what that meant.

"Caitlyn!" "Stas!" They yelled together. The girls immediately jumped into their boyfriend's arms. Shane came in a moment after them, carrying Jacob who was licking his face.

I stood up and took Jacob and put him on the floor. As soon as I did, Shane pulled me to him and kissed me, not saying a word. After a few minutes, we pulled apart. "Hi." I breathed out.

"Hi." He smiled at me. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked bewildered.

"We took our finals early so we could come see you." I answered smiling widely.

"How long are you here for?"

I looked down, "Um, we're, uh, here, until, uh, Camp Rock!" I yelled at the end.

"Seriously?" He spun me around. "That is amazing." He said hugging me tightly.

"Right, now that you boys are here, I'll tell you what I told the girls already." Donnie explained the sleeping rules again.

"Where's Rich gonna sleep when he's on the bus?" Nate asked. Rich sometimes flew from concert to concert to get there ahead of time, and therefore wasn't on the bus 24-7 with the guys.

"Well, he's hoping you all sleep the way we think you will but if not, he's going to sleep on the couch." Donnie answered.

"Wait, what?" Jason asked, not following.

"Jason, there are four beds. There are 3 couples. If each couple shares a bed, there is still one open bed."

"Oh! Wait, we can share the beds?" The girls laughed while Shane and Nate just looked at him weird.

"Hey, guys, I see found your surprise." Rich said coming on the bus. "We have to drive all night to get to the next show, so think about that while you decide who's sleeping next to who." He said. "Guys you have an interview tomorrow before the show as well as autograph singings. After that is rehearsal, and then the show. Girls you will be more than welcome to tag along to all of these. But know that if you go to the interview, you will be expected to answer questions. Decide how you all are sleeping so I know where I'm sleeping."

"Decided." We all said together, laughing. "Shane and Mitchie, Jason and Stas, and Caitlyn and I are going to be sharing beds." Nate explained.

Rich nodded. "I'm off to sleep then. Guys don't be up too late." He walked into the back. "Shane's bed's already been picked I see." He laughed. Jacob was sleeping on Shane's bed.

The others went to bed shortly after, but Shane and I stayed up in the living room talking a bit.

"I've missed you, so much." Shane kissing my head.

"I know." I answered resting my head against his chest. "I don't think we'll be able to handle it if I go to college and you're on tour." I sighed.

"Well, you won't be going to Camp Rock then, and we'll be able to tour during the summer, properly." He replied.

"Maybe. I mean, that's _if_ I go to college. I mean, who knows what's gonna happen."

"True. Who knows, then you might be touring with the guys and I _as an artist_. Like the opening act or something."

"Ha. Right." I laughed. "I wish."

"Maybe." He smiled. "I have a feeling you'll be with me anyway."

"Why?" I asked smiling up at him.

"Just do." He shrugged.

"Mmm. I could stay like this forever." I sighed into his chest. I'd missed the feeling of being in his arms.

"I know." He laughed. "Me, too." He stood up, and pulled me with him. "Bed time." We went to the back and I crawled into our bed next to Caitlyn and Nate. Shane stood at the bottom of the bed and pulled off his jeans and t-shirt, and crawled into bed next to me.

I fell asleep almost as soon as he wrapped his arms around me. Jacob was at our feet, curled up as well. I didn't want the next 8 weeks to end. I wanted to sleep in his arms forever.

You know you love me. :)


	18. Chapter 18

So, you may have noticed how lazy I was when I checked yesterdays chapter before posting it. And, to warn you all, on the 16th, I'm going to be driving down to Florida from New Jersey. I have to help my aunt move down there, and I might not be back for a few days. I'm not sure yet. I highly doubt this will be done by then. And then, on the 23rd, I'm going to Project Revolution, yay! And probably won't update then either. Yes, yes, I know that I'm a hardcore Linkin Park and Armor For Sleep fan and I'm writing a story about a DCOM musical. Lol. So, I've gotten complaints about not enough Naitlyn, but its hard, since unless Mitchie is observing them, I can't really tell it. I may rewrite this from Caitlyn's perspective eventually after this one.

So, this is the first half of Day 1 of the tour. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 18

At some point throughout the night, the bus must have hit a bump. Shane, Caitlyn, Nate and I were all on one side of the beds. Caitlyn and I were facing each other, cuddling almost, while our boyfriends were wrapped around us from behind. Shane's back was pressed against the wall, and Nate was resting in the slight gap between the beds. This was the one of the other picture sitting on my nightstand. Rich found us before any of us woke up or moved.

"Up, up, up." Rich said knocking on the wall next to the door. "We've got to get showered and eat." We all groaned and got up. "If I hear more than one person in a shower, I will have to ground some people." We laughed as we began moving around.

"Weird." I said looking at the clock.

"What is?" Shane asked pulling on his tee from the night before. I saw Nate doing the same.

"Jake didn't wake me up to go to the bathroom."

Rich poked his head into the back. "I walked him earlier." He said.

"Oh, thanks. You should've woken me up." I insisted.

"Eh." He waved it off. "I managed to get a good picture before he was able to." I gave him a confused look, not yet knowing about the awkward way we'd slept. "Okay, guys, I expect you to help your girls get into the flow of things, but again, I don't want to hear more than one person in a shower. They've closed the showers for us, so get in and out as fast as possible."

We had pulled over to a truck stop where we could shower and eat before getting back on the road to the interviews. We all dressed haphazardly in pajama bottoms or sweat pants and sweat shirts or tees. Grabbing our clothes for the day and toiletries, we all filed out of the bus. Jacob was left on the bus with his food.

We walked two by two into the truck stop. The girls and I were thankful we had on sweatshirts, as the some of the patrons weren't looking at us very innocently. Not saying that _all_ truck drivers, etc, are creepy men. Some of them were very nice. One guy actually told the guy next to him to stop looking at us. It was rude and inappropriate. Of course that was the one time us girls went in by ourselves.

Anyway. Can you really expect 3 teenage guys to _not_ make some type of comment to their 3 teenage girlfriends about showering? No. You can't.

"Too bad Rich said we can't share the showers." Shane smirked at me.

"What makes you think we'd have shared the shower with _you_?" Anastasia replied smartly.

"Well, I don't think he'd _really_ mind if you wanted to share with one of the girls." Nate responded.

"You wish." Caitlyn laughed.

"I don't get it." Jason said giving up trying to. We laughed.

We all kissed our significant other good-bye and headed into the showers.

"Oh, Cait, I forgot my shampoo on the bus. Can I borrow yours?" I asked, yelling through the stalls.

"Mine is for curly hair!" She laughed back. "You're hair will not be straight at all. Do you want to curl it after?"

"I can curl it after we eat." I decided.

"Heads up." She called throwing it over the wall. I laughed as it bounced on the floor at my feet.

"There is something wrong with the two of you." Anastasia laughed.

"Yeah, so?" I laughed back.

"Oh man." Anastasia sighed. "Hey, guys?"

"Oh, now you'll talk to us in the shower." Caitlyn said.

"Can I borrow someone's body wash?" We laughed as I tossed my body wash to her.

Almost in sync a little while later, all three of showers turned off one after another. I stepped out of my stall after toweling off and getting dressed.

"What are you doing?" I asked Anastasia as I started brushing my hair that was surprise, surprise, not staying straight. It had the slightly wave to it. Not too much, but it'd have to straighten it or curl it, and the straightening wouldn't stay too long.

"I am scrunching my hair." Anastasia replied. She had her hair flipped over and was lifting handfuls of hair up to her head, curling her hair in the process. She was putting gel into her hair, but not a lot like I'd seen some girls after gym class. When she stood up, her hair was in curls and waves in small sections.

"Nice." I commented pulling my hair into a pony tail for the time being.

"Are we _all_ going to be curly today?" Caitlyn asked, emerging last from the shower, though her hair looked mostly dry already.

"Well, we _could_ straighten your hair…" Anastasia suggested smiling mischievously.

"You know better than to come anywhere _near_ my hair with a straightener, Stas!" Caitlyn cried. We laughed and headed out to the guys once our make-up was done. They were sitting in a big round booth near the showers in the restaurant part of the building. Shane got up, and Caitlyn and I slide in on one side, while Anastasia slide in on the other next to Jason.

Shane looked at me weird as he sat down. "What?" I asked.

"I've just… never seen you with your hair _up_." He laughed shaking his head.

"Oh, I'm curling it when we get back on the bus." I informed him. "I used Cait's shampoo, so my hair won't stay very straight."

He laughed and then he noticed Anastasia's hair. "Did you use Cait's shampoo, too?" He asked.

She shook her head no. "I just wanted to scrunch my hair. I can throw it up into a bun easier when it's like this."

"Okay, we're going to pretend we understood that." Jason said. Shane and Nate nodded as the waitress came over.

"Okay, Orange juice for Curly and Dark's girl. Apple juice for Curly's girl and Light. Milk for Light's girl. And Coffee for Dark." She passed out everyone's drinks, and surprisingly enough, they were right. We laughed as quietly as we could as we ordered breakfast.

"I'm surprised you guys order everything right." Caitlyn laughed softly.

"Hey, enough Sunday breakfasts with you guys at your house, we learned." Nate replied.

"Shane, you seriously drink coffee?" Anastasia asked. "Did you know that fruit juice will wake you up better? Especially orange juice."

He smirked. "Yes I do." He may be nicer, but he still wasn't very friendly in the morning.

"Shane's allergic to fruit concentrates." I explained. "Not every place makes freshly made fruit juice, and it's safer to just give him coffee."

Anastasia shook her head laughing to herself quietly. Shane and Anastasia were a lot like brother and sister. They loved to fight with one another and tease each other. They were usually civil, but wouldn't miss an opportunity to bug the other. "Spoiled Pop Star." She said quietly.

"Spoiled brat is more like it." I laughed. "He threw fits when he was kid if he couldn't have something because it had concentrates in it."

Shane groaned. "Who told you that?"

"Your mom, your sister…" I said simply. He groaned again.

"No more talking to my sister."

"But I _love_ talking to your sister. It's so much fun hearing about how Riley drove up to see her last weekend. And how they spent most of that time making out-" Shane's hand forcibly covered my mouth.

"I said she could date him. I don't need to know what it entails, Mitch. _Please_." He begged.

"Look, food!" Caitlyn clapped as our breakfasts were passed around the table.

We ate in peace. Rich paid the bill for us, and we filed back onto the bus. When we did, Jason, Anastasia, and Nate decided on watching TV on the couch. Rich climbed up front talking to Donnie. Caitlyn helped me curl my hair at the table while Shane sat across from me shaking his head.

"A. That's gonna hurt when he hits a bump." He gestured to Donnie. "B. I can't see _why_ you want to curl your hair when it's so straight naturally."

"Haven't we had this conversation?" I said looking down at Jacob who was in Shane's lap.

"Yeah. I know. I know. Oh, and unless we're in a hotel, don't expect to see my hair curly for awhile." Shane warned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll just have to catch you when you have to straighten it on the bus." I smiled.

Donnie hit a bump in the road, and Shane was about to look triumphant when Caitlyn simply rolled her body to avoid falling and pulling my hair. Neither of us managed to get hit by the curler either.

"How did you do that?" Shane asked.

"Every summer before Camp Rock, I would go on a road trip with my parents in an RV. You get road legs. It's like sea legs on a boat." She shrugged. I laughed as Shane pouted.

A commercial for Kotex came on and Nate changed the channel quickly. He shuddered. "I hate those commercials." Anastasia rolled her eyes as she looked at Caitlyn and I. Shane started laughing.

"Dude." Shane chuckled. "You _do_ realize we're going to be on a bus with 3 _girls_ for about a _month_ right?"

"And?" Nate asked not catching on.

"You know what, I'm going to either let you figure that out, or let the girls tell you."

"Tell me what?" We just laughed at him "Tell me what?" He asked a few more times and we refused to tell him. "Fine." He pouted.

"And done." Caitlyn proclaimed pulling the last curl out.

"So?" I asked Shane shaking my head full of curls at him.

"I like your bangs the best." He replied smiling at me playful.

I touched my bangs in confusion and realized they were still relatively straight despite the evil curly shampoo. "Jerk." I said sitting back, realizing what he meant.

"You look cute. Promise." He picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles. I giggled as Nate groaned.

"Hey, Stas, I'm going to go look in the bathroom. Come with me." I commanded winking at Shane. Caitlyn was talking to Nate, so he didn't notice us at all. We came back giggling and laughing, but no one questioned us.

"So, girls, you excited?" Rich asked looking back at us.

"Yes!" We all cried together.

"Are you going to go to the interview with them or stand in the back with John and I?"

We looked at each other, and then the guys. They were all giving us puppy dog looks and begging. Laughing, I answered, "We'll most definitely be there with them."

"Good." He said. "Because we're here." Donnie parked outside of a hotel not far from the concert hall the guys would be performing at. We left Jacob running around the bus as we all filed off. Shane wrapped his arm around my shoulder, while Nate's was around Caitlyn's waist. Jason and Anastasia followed hand in hand behind us.

When we walked into the conference room, there was a small stage with a table set up on it. There had been 3 chairs and 3 mics, but people were placing 3 more chairs behind the table. Reporters flooded the entire room, all eager to ask their questions.

We sat down in the chairs, and for once, Caitlyn and I weren't next to each other. I was between Jason and Shane in the middle of the table. Caitlyn and Nate were on the other side of Shane, and Anastasia on the other side of Jason. We looked nervous, I'm sure.

"Hey, guys," Shane greeted.

"You may have noticed our beautiful girlfriends are here with us." Nate stated.

Jason interrupted, "We would've given you the heads up, but they surprised us last night."

"And we've missed them so much we couldn't bare to be without them." Shane said playfully.

"Actually," Nate said conspiringly to the reporters, "Shane hasn't left Mitchie's side unless he was forced since last night."

"You're just jealous, Nate." I teased, forgetting we were in an interview.

He smiled playfully at me, "That's why your hair looks like _my_ girlfriend's today, right, Mitch?"

"Since you _obviously_ missed the _first two _conversations about our hair, we all went curly today, Nate." I said back.

"Okay, okay." Anastasia interrupted. "I'm sure all these reporters didn't come out to hear you two bicker." The crowd of reporters, who had already been laughing, laughed a bit harder.

"So, first question?" Shane asked. He nodded at a reporter in the front. At first the questions were about the tour and the new album, etc. Then they started getting personal.

"Girls, what's it like to be on a bus with these three?" A report asked.

"Well," Caitlyn shrugged, "It's only been a day. We can't really answer that yet."

"Though I couldn't see who it was because the guys were on the top bunks," Anastasia began, "One of them _snores_. Loudly." Caitlyn and I nodded, and then Jason and Shane did, too. "So, it _was_ Nate!"

"Thanks, Stas." Nate mumbled.

"The 6 of you are sharing one tour bus?" Another asked.

Nate took charge and answered, "Yes, we do. But there are 4 beds, so the girls share two and we share two. As Stas said, we're on the top bunks, and they share the bottom bunks. There is 24-7 adult supervision for the girls. Everything is appropriate."

"Nate and Mitchie, you seem to have an interesting interactions. Do you think you can handle being together 24-7?"

We all laughed. "Actually, Nate and I have a really good relationship together. We all get along really well. The ones we need to worry about are Shane and Anastasia, Stas."

"She's evil." Shane said playfully sticking his tongue out at her.

She did the same back, "He's a crybaby." She teased back.

"No, Stas and I get along." Shane laughed, "We just like to tease each other and get on the others' nerves."

Another reporter asked, "Caitlyn and Mitchie, you live together to begin with. Do you find it easier or harder to live with each other while the guys are on tour?"

Caitlyn answered, "Well, it's hard at times. When you get a phone call or she gets a text, and the other doesn't. You get a little jealous and upset. 'Why did he have time, but _he_ doesn't?' But when you miss them to the point you can't help but break down crying, you have someone right there with you, crying their eyes out, too."

"And then you have Jacob, who will have no idea what's going on and cry, too." I added.

"Who is Jacob?" A few reporters shouted.

"Jacob, " Shane started, "Is the puppy I bought Mitchie for her birthday."

"Guys, what's your take on the Mitchie/Caitlyn living situation?"

Shane laughed. "We get in trouble." Nate nodded. "It helps keep your relationship a lot cleaner, I think. Not that we do, but you can't lie to them at _all_. If one of us says we're going to be recording all day and the other says we should be done by lunch, you hear about it."

"It also means we have to coordinate a lot of things, though. Like Valentine's Day." Nate said. "You want to make sure that one doesn't outdo the other. So, we just do things together."

"And we love them for it." I added.

They turned the questioning on Anastasia, asking, "Anastasia, you're relatively new to the group. What was it like coming in to it?"

Anastasia laughed, "Please, call me Stas, first off. As to your question, I'd say it was a little intense. I met Jason and then I met the rest of them. Mitchie and Caitlyn were really laid back and friendly. I hung out with them before I hung out with guys, though, because it seemed almost like I had to prove myself not insane to them. I'd say they're more protective of Jason, and all the guys, even, than the guys themselves. It was nice to see people who cared so much about each other. It was pretty cool to watch them all interact."

"Mitchie, Caitlyn, what made Stas acceptable to you?" The same reporter asked.

We laughed. "She was fun to hangout with it." Caitlyn said.

"And then when the guys came over, she fit in with us perfectly. She didn't walk on eggshells or anything around them, just jumped right into teasing the guys with us. She's good for Jason." I explained.

"Mitchie," A particularly rude sounding reporter called out. "You said in your interview back in January you lied to Shane in the beginning of your relationship. Do fans and Shane have to worry about you lying to him again?"

"No com-" Shane started saying, not wanting me to get upset but I stopped him.

"Well, like I said in January, I had let myself get intimidated. And I didn't lie _to _Shane. But that's irrelevant. No, people don't have to worry about me lying again. Shane and I have both learned about lying and we've grown and become stronger from it. However, I'm thankful for that experience because it really let me understand what was to come in this business. You have to be strong and not let others walk all over you. But you also have to be sure not to walk all over others, either." I answered honestly.

Thankfully, Rich came up before anymore questions could be asked. "That's it for today, folks. We've a line of anxious fans wanting autographs." As the reporters left the room, the guys were brought sharpies and the table was moved down to the floor. "Okay, we've got lots of screaming girls out there, remember. Smile and be friendly. Girls be prepared to hear your boys being proposed to." Rich warned us. A rush of screaming girls came in a moment later.

"Ohmigosh!" The first girl in front of Shane and I cried. "You're _both_ here. I am like such a huge fan of you two. I _love _your song." I smiled happily.

"Wow, thank you." I said as Shane signed his name on her magazine with our picture on it.

"Your's too?" She asked handing it to me. I blinked a few times but picked up a sharpie off of the table and signed my name below Shane's.

Shane turned to me and smiled. I looked at Caitlyn and Anastasia for moment each. They didn't seem to be getting things like that. I smiled tightly to myself for a moment. _This_ could be bad.

Sign #4271 that I love you guys: I wrote this sitting at my desk in pain with a heating pad around my middle.


	19. Chapter 19

So, here be the chapter with my favorite Jonas Brother's song. I know. I know. It's just so beautiful. I couldn't help it. Forgive me for having writing between the lyrics, but I wanted to show Mitchie's feelings during the song. That said, _lyrics_ are Nate singing without Shane and _**lyrics **_are Shane singing with or without Nate. It's in Mitchie POV so, obviously, she's not going to care what Nate is singing, much. I'm fairly certain I'm going to make a Naitlyn version of the story when this is done, so. No complaining, Naitlyn-ers, XD. I hope you enjoy. And forgive me if the lyrics are annoyingly written or wrong. You would not believe what I did to try and separate them.

Oh and warning: Mitchie does something _really_ unexpected. Don't shoot me. Nothing further will happen, yet.

* * *

Chapter 19

Not as many fans as I would have liked were like the first. There were others like her, but most were more like my _favorites_. They were the type that were probably the reasons Caitlyn and Anastasia had less than thrilled smiles.

"Oh, you're here." One of the fans sneered. Shane smirked a little and sent her a dazzling smile, but paused just before his pen hit the paper.

He looked up at her out of the corner of his eye. "Do you have a problem with her?" He asked sweetly.

The girl instantly became tongue tied. "Um, no. No, not all, I mean, at all. I mean, god you are amazing." She sighed at the end.

I had to keep from laughing. I wrapped my arm around his and hugged him, mimicking her breathless tone, "He _is_ pretty amazing, isn't he?" I sighed.

The girl glared at me as Shane handed her the signed piece of paper. "That wasn't nice." Shane laughed kissing the side of my head. I shrugged and let go of his arm as the next girl came up.

"I love you." One girl said and just stared at him. I cleared my throat. "Oh, could you sign this?" She handed him the newest CD case. "I love you." She said again as she was pushed out of the way for the next girl.

One of my other favorite fans? That would be miss I-think-I-dropped-my-picture-for-you-to-sign-can-you-sign-me-instead? Yes, she has a very long name. I know, right? She was wearing a super tight, super low cut shirt that her cleavage was falling out of. I self-consciously looked down for a moment. Mine were covered, but weren't half as big as hers.

"Where would you like me to sign?" Shane asked. I sighed at his stupidity. Her chest, _duh_. "Oh." Was his response as she leaned over the table for him to do so. I imagine it'd be hard for him to _not_ notice them as they were staring him in the face, but he did a good job of focusing on the spot he wrote on and that was it. It was funny to see him trying to not actually touch her breast while signing it.

When she left, he whispered in my ear, "I like your's better." His voice had that edge to it again. I blushed deeply and shivered a bit. He went back to signing autographs like he didn't say anything weird.

After the signings we had a bit of time until rehearsals, but had to drive about 15 minutes to get there. When we got back on the bus, Shane and I ended up on the floor in the living room area playing with Jacob, while the others sat at the table talking.

"That was horrible." Anastasia cried. "What was wrong with the boob chick?"

"A lot." Caitlyn replied. "Shane, I can't believe you signed it."

"What?" Shane asked, having been rolling on his back with Jacob and not listening.

"You aren't supposed to say no." Nate shrugged. "It's like… the rules."

"Yeah, well. Speaking of autographs, someone _not _of the male persuasion seemed to sign quite a few, too." Caitlyn said smiling.

I held my breath, not sure what their reaction was exactly. "Yeah. I was completely surprised."

"I can't believe my best friend is famous!" Caitlyn laughed happily.

I shot back, "You are too, Cait."

"We aren't as famous as you are. And we don't want to be. We're famous because of the guys. You're famous because of Shane _and_ because of your voice." Anastasia argued.

"Which they heard because of Shane." I replied.

"Mitchie, will you accept that you have an amazing voice and that people like it and that you are famous, more famous then us, please?" Caitlyn cried.

The entire time I was afraid of my friend's being jealous of the attention I was getting, I never stopped to really think. These _are_ my friends and they shouldn't be jealous of me. They should be happy for me. Which they were. I also knew they were all getting frustrated with my self doubt. I laughed, finally, realizing they were right. "Yeah. Fine. Just don't let it go to my head, alright? I'd hate to end up like Tess." I paused. "Or worse, like Shane." I giggled as he looked at me from underneath our puppy.

"Hey!" He cried.

"Love you pop star." I leaned over my folded legs and kissed him softly. Jacob sniffed my face. "Thanks, pup." I laughed moving away.

"Oh!" Nate said suddenly, startling all of us. "Guys, meeting." He hopped over the back of the booth and onto the couch.

"What?" We all asked.

He was heading to the back. "Shane, Jason. C'mere." He said. Shane handed me Jacob as Jason slid out of the booth. They shared confused looks as they were beckoned again. The door separating the front of the bus from bathroom/bedroom area was closed behind them.

A few minutes later, they reemerged and acted like nothing had happened. "What's up?" I asked as Shane joined me on the couch now.

"Nothing." He smiled. "Oh, girls, you can't come to rehearsal." He said very nonchalantly.

"Why not?" We cried out.

"Because then yo- Ow. Nate, that hurt." Jason cried out as Nate kicked him under the table.

"What, Jase?" Anastasia tried getting him to tell her the big secret.

"Nope. Nate'll kick me again." He shook his head.

"Think of it as… pay back?" Shane suggested.

"For?" I asked looking over at him.

"Surprising us. Now we're surprising you."

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "You're so stupid sometimes, Shane. It's not 'pay back' when you _enjoyed_ the surprise." She teased, laughing at him.

He went right back at her. "Yeah, but the anxiety _prior_ to the surprise? Not so fun. So while we were upset last night because you didn't answer your phones, you now get to sit for 3 hours doing who knows what, wondering, what is this big surprise?"

"You're an idiot, Shane." She laughed.

He laughed back, "Have you met your boyfriend?"

"Hey." She pouted wrapping her arms around him. "I love my idiot."

"Am I being insulted?" Jason asked. We laughed and told him no. "Good." He kissed Anastasia and we all laughed a bit harder.

When we arrived at the concert hall, the guys said good-bye and got off the bus. The girls and I finally noticed that the big tractor trailer that had been with us last night hadn't been all day. It was sitting in the parking lot by the back stage entrance.

"What now?" I asked as we sat on the couch staring at one another.

"Would you like me to take you to the mall or something?" Donnie offered. "The bus is unmarked, so we can easily pull up to the mall's back entrance unnoticed."

"Girls, I just got a wicked idea." Anastasia smirked. "Let's make sure the boys get some 'pay back' of their own, huh?" Caitlyn and I shared a look, unknowing what she was up to.

A half an hour later, we knew. "That is super short." Caitlyn gasped as Anastasia passed her a denim skirt. "I am not wearing that."

I laughed. "I'm sure Nick would like it. Besides, you've worn skirts that short before."

"Except, I always have something under them. Like skinny jeans or something." She looked pointedly at Anastasia, "Are you going to let me wear something under this?"

"Nope." She said making a popping noise at the end of the word. Caitlyn gave me an 'I-told-you-so' look.

"Try it on, it might not be that bad." I assured her.

Anastasia laughed as she handed me an outfit, while Caitlyn grudgingly headed off to try on the skirt. "No!" I gasped seeing the shirt.

Caitlyn heard me, and yelled back, "You have to!" I glared and stomped off to the dressing room next to hers.

"Come on guys, stop pouting." Anastasia said as she entered the one on the other side of Caitlyn.

"I look like a whore." Caitlyn complained opening the door.

"At least you can fill out the top she gave you." I argued coming out as well.

"Cry babies." Anastasia said opening the door.

We looked at each other and appraised each of us. Caitlyn had on a denim skirt that was _admittedly_ a bit short. But it was still decent. Her shirt was corset like in design, showing off her tiny waist. It had a square neckline that went from next to neck at the top to the farthest possible point at her chest. Her shoulders were covered and it flattered her quiet well.

"I like it." I decided. Anastasia smiled in triumph and agreed. Caitlyn begrudgingly agreed to the top but swore she was at least wearing fishnets under the skirt. We agreed.

Next was Anastasia, who looked amazing. She had on super skinny jeans, jeans being something we almost never see her in, and a tight t-shirt/vest combo.

"Wow. I haven't seen you in anything that tight since the night you slept over." I commented.

"Her _bra_ does not count as tight clothing." Caitlyn commented. "I like it. You have a good figure, you can pull off the tight look. You wear the vests a lot but they're always covering you, not flattering you."

"I know." She shrugged. "I don't like showing off much."

"We know. Now, can we please tell me how ridiculous I look so I can change?" I asked. Anastasia knew better than to give me something tight like she did Caitlyn, but she was still pushing the limits with my shirt. It was a strapless shirt that had tight elastic around the chest and then flowed outward. Not unlike something I would have worn on my own, if it had had some type of sleeves or straps.

"Why? You look really good." Caitlyn complimented. "And your skirt is longer than mine."

"Yeah, but it's also _tighter_ than yours." Caitlyn's skirt had more moving room than mine did. Granted it _was_ longer, but still.

"Both of you stop complaining and get changed." Anastasia commanded. We grumbled but did as she said.

We took the clothes up to the register, and were surprised when Donnie handed the lady a credit card. He had been with us to keep an eye on us while we shopped. "Donnie, you don't have to. We had it covered."

"Nonsense. That's a company expenses card. Rich said to make sure you girls were entertained. This entertained you." He explained.

We laughed and headed off to buy shoes. We ended up buying three new pairs of boots we would all undoubtedly end up wearing. The beauty of having friends with the same sized shoe as you.

By the time we got back, the guys had just finished rehearsal and were goofing off outside with their band. We watched as they seemed to be playing tag or play fighting or something. We weren't really sure. When the guys came back on the bus they were smiling and laughing.

"What did you end up doing?" Shane asked laying his head in my lap on the couch.

I ran my fingers through his hair, knowing they were going to straighten it again anyway. "Went shopping."

"What'd you buy?" He asked nuzzling my stomach a little like Jacob often did. "Oof." Speaking of Jacob, he jumped on Shane's stomach at that point.

"New boots." I said smiling.

"Mmm. You gonna wear them tonight?" He asked.

"I don't know. Maybe." I smiled knowingly. "Shane!" I giggled as he rubbed his face against my stomach again.

"Hmmm?" He looked up at me sleepily.

"That tickled." I said smiling at the adorable look on his face.

"Oh well." He shrugged. I rolled my eyes.

Rich came in a few minutes later. "Guys. You've got to get ready for the show." The three boys made noises of complaint, but followed anyway. "Girls, are you coming?" Rich asked before he left the bus.

"Actually, I'm going to bring them in later." Donnie answered for us. Rich nodded and closed the door. "Those boys are not going to be able to concentrate at all later, are they?" He asked knowingly.

We smiled as innocently as we could. With our hair already done, we touched up our makeup and got dressed, adding minor changes to the outfits. Caitlyn wore her fishnets like promised, and they really did add to the overall look. Anastasia added a big belt slanting across her hips. I put a shrug on over my shoulders, despite Anastasia's protests. Donnie smiled at us as we emerged from the back. He had opened the side for us to have more room, but it was still a bit of a challenge to get dressed.

"You three are evil. I like it." He laughed.

He handed us back stage passes and lead us to where the guys would be getting ready. Each of them had their own dressing room, so we parted ways. I knocked on Shane's door and stuck my head. I was struck for a minute as I realized he was in just his boxers, but remembering it was something I _had_ seen before, I was able to move into the room. He was in the process of putting on his incredibly tight white jeans.

"I'll be there in a minute, damn." He said barely looking over his shoulder.

"Need help, pop star?" I asked closing the door behind me. He turned around quickly, facing me.

"Hey." He smiled at me before his eyes began drifting. I saw his eyes sweep over me before coming back to my own. "New _boots_?" He asked, the edge returning to his voice.

"And maybe a new outfit." I smiled as I moved closer. He had managed to get his jeans up where they belonged before getting sidetracked, so they were hanging up on his hips. Surprising both of us I reached forward and zipped them for him.

He looked down confused. "I can't believe you just did that." He looked back up at me smiling. "What happened to my shy, innocent Mitchie?" He asked laughing slightly.

"What?" I asked shrugging innocently. "I can't help my boyfriend?" I answered, not exactly sure what possessed me to do that in the first place.

"I didn't get to help you get dressed." He pouted.

I laughed. "Something tells me you wouldn't have let me get dressed."

He nodded in agreement. "That's why it a good thing I probably didn't."

He pulled me to him and stood there with his hands on my hips just looking at me. "What?" I asked blushing.

He lowered his head closer to mine. "Remember that conversation we had at Christmas? About me wanting to do inappropriate things to you?" He whispered against my lips.

"Yeah." I whispered back.

"We're back there again." I smiled and kissed him softly.

"Sorry. I'll sure to not help you get dress anymore." I teased softly.

He laughed sarcastically. "Ha. You're funny." He kissed me again before moving away from me to finish getting dressed. I sat on the counter and watched him. I was swinging my legs, but made sure to keep my knees close together. "That is _severely_ distracting, Miss Torres." He said from the other side of the room.

"What is?" I asked, honestly having no idea.

He laughed. "Never mind. Alright, time to go get my hair fixed, since _someone_ decided to play with it earlier."

I smiled. "Well if it was _curly_…" I began as he gave me a look. "Fine, I'll be quiet."

"I'll wash it out tonight for you, okay?" He said softly as we stopped by the door.

"You don't have to…" I protested. He kissed me and rolled my eyes.

"I want to. If it makes you happy…" He shrugged and we made our way to the dressing room with all of the hair and make up stuff in it.

Caitlyn, Anastasia and I were in awe. We'd never watched a concert from back stage and it was pretty cool. Everything looks so flawless when you're in the crowd, but in reality, it's hectic back stage. Each time the guys took a break and ran back stage to change their shirts or something, it was crazy. The best part about watching from back stage? Watching your boyfriend jump around in tight jeans from behind. Especially when he has a nice rear to look at. Okay, at least that was the best for me. But they were amazing. The girls and I sang along to every song. We found ourselves quite easily getting used to being backstage at concerts for the rest of the summer.

Except the guys didn't like that idea.

"How's everyone doing so far?" Shane asked. The crowd cheered. "Okay, we've got a surprise for you. This is our last song though. You see, our girlfriends surprised us last night by coming on tour early." For a split second we thought Shane was dragging me out on stage.

"And while we've been gone, we've missed them." Nate explained.

"A lot." Jason added.

Shane laughed, "Yeah, a lot. So we, well mostly Nate inspired by my whining, wrote them this song… that they haven't heard yet."

"Caitlyn, Mitchie, Stas. Come out here." Nate instructed. We won't move, too shocked to do so. Caitlyn and I glared at Anastasia as they guys came back and brought us out on stage. Roadies brought out chairs for us to sit on as well as the guys. Shane's guitar and a piano were brought out on stage, too.

"This is called When You Look Me In The Eyes." Nate said from behind the piano.

"Ooh ooh yeah," Nate sang,

_Ooh ooh yeah._

When Shane sang, he was looking me in the eyes. I knew the others were there, too, experiencing the same thing, but it felt like just Shane and I at that moment.

_**If the heart is always searching**_

_**Can you ever find a home? **_

Nate's voice didn't even phase me.

_I've been looking for that someone_

_I never make it on my own._

I laughed, knowing that line was about Shane more than the others.

_**Dreams can't take the place of loving you.**_

I smiled remembering the many times Shane has told me that.

_There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true._

_**When you look me in the eyes**_

_**And tell me that you love me**_

_**Everything's alright**_

_**When you're right here by my side **_

_**When you look me in the eyes**_

_**I catch a glimpse of heaven**_

_**I find my paradise**_

_**When you look me in the eyes.**_

_**How long will I be waiting to be with you again?**_

Another thing Shane said to many times.

_I'm gonna tell you that I love you in the best way that I can_

_**I can't take a day without you here**_

He probably couldn't. I'm sure I had tears pouring down my face, but I didn't notice.

_You're the light that make my darkness disappear._

_**When you look me in the eyes**_

_**And tell me that you love me**_

_**Everything's alrightWhen you're right here by my side**_

_**When you look me in the eyesI catch a glimpse of heaven**_

_**I find my paradise**_

_**When you look me in the eyes**_

_More and more, I start to realize_

_**I can reach my tomorrowI can hold my head up high**_

_And it's all because you're by my side_

_When you look me in the eyesAnd tell me that you love me_

_Everything's alrightWhen you're right here by my side_

_When I hold you in my arms_

_I know that it's forever_

_I just got to let you know_

_I never wanna let you go_

Nate kept singing, but I was focused on Shane. I only heard his background lyrics behind Nate.

_**Because**_

_**Everything's alright**_

_**By my sideWhen you look me in the eyes, **_

_oh, yeah, ah, oh, yeah_

The crowd erupted screaming and cheering, but neither the guys, nor us were paying attention. We were too busy kissing with everything we had.

Hope that wasn't too painful to follow. I've been planning that for a while. :D


	20. Chapter 20

So, sorry to anyone who got an alert about Ch 20... That was my bad last night. And yes, believe it or not I _do_ listen to Jonas Brothers. Just not as much as some. I have a widely varying taste in music. So, I'm glad to hear you all liked the chapter last time. And on a lucky note for all of you, I'm now not driving down to Florida until August 1. And I shouldn't be gone for too long then because my birthday is the on August 9. Yay! Lol. 1 month to go. And happy birthday to someone who reviewed saying their birthday was yesterday or today, I don't remember, and I can't find the review because I have 560 of them in a folder in my inbox. Woo! Okay, go read. I love this chapter, personally. And I know some of you _definitely_ will enjoy this as your guesses are confirmed in it.

* * *

Chapter 20

Eventually, we all managed to break apart from our partners long enough for the guys to take a final bow and say goodnight to their fans. Caitlyn, Anastasia and I were backstage crying and laughing and awing and… yeah. Being typical teenage girls in love. As soon as the guys were off stage we were all dragged back to dressing rooms.

"Sha-" I tried to speak but as soon as the door closed to his dressing room he had me pressed against it. We were kissing wildly, trying to gain dominance, and unsurprisingly, he was winning. His lips trailed away from mine, as they descended down to my neck. His hands were running up and down my sides, occasionally brushing against my chest before continuing back down. My own hands were taking turns running across his back and shoulders or fisting his hair in them. I bit back a moan as he sucked on my neck particularly hard.

Since I hit puberty and guys weren't icky, Steph has always told me to make sure I wasn't 'on top' or 'on the outside' when making out. I never really understood until now. They were usually the ones in control, _but_ they were the ones doing all the work. You get to sit back and enjoy, and boy was I enjoying.

Shane groaned against my neck as he felt my knees giving out. He dragged me across the room, careful not to break contact as he kissed me properly again. Before I could process, he had me back up on the counter I'd been sitting on earlier. I gasped as he parted my knees, causing my skirt to slid up a bit, and stood between my now open legs.

My gasp brought us back to our senses. Shane pulled away from me, taking a step back, though his eyes never left mine as he did. We were both breathing heavily and were aware that if he chose to look down, he could mostly likely look right up my skirt. We stared at each, unmoving and uncertain.

Suddenly Shane smiled, glancing down, but not much. He gently closed my legs and laughed a little. "Guess we were getting carried away, huh?" He asked still breathless.

I nodded, not trusting my self to speak. His hair was messed up and I'm sure mine was too. I slide off the counter to check myself in the mirror. I groaned, laughing slightly at my appearance. "I look like a raccoon." My eyeliner and mascara had run down my face. "I look emo."

"You look beautiful." Shane replied wrapping his arms around me from behind.

"You are a walking cliché." I laughed leaning against him.

"But you love me." He said simply.

I turned around in his arms. "I do." I said sincerely. He groaned and closed his eyes. "What?"

"I really want to kiss you but with the way you're looking tonight…" He groaned again. "I don't trust myself." I laughed and kissed him once, softly, before moving out of his arms.

I wiped the make-up from underneath my eyes as best I could before turning to him again. "I'm gonna wait outside so you can get changed and all. You're a bit sweaty." I teased. He nodded and laughed as I closed the door behind me.

I heard a gasp from beside me as I leaned against the door. I turned my head to see Caitlyn and Anastasia standing there. "What were _you_ up to?" Anastasia asked coming over to me.

"What?" I asked not knowing what they were talking about. They began looking at my neck quite closely.

"You have a _serious_ love bite." Caitlyn pointed out. My hand shot up to cover my neck.

"Are you serious?" I gasped. "He left a mark?"

"So you admit to it!" Anastasia laughed.

"No, _actually_, he attacked me with a vacuum hose." I replied sarcastically. "How bad is it? I didn't even notice when I fixed my hair."

"It's getting darker as we speak. Come on." They pulled me away from Shane's door and out to the bus.

"Okay, we will cover this for you, because if Rich or Donnie see it, we are all seriously screwed." Anastasia hissed quietly as we headed into the back, away from Donnie. "However, you have to tell us what the hell you were up to! I mean, Jason and I were… but damn. We didn't leave marks!" She cried in a hushed tone.

"I don't know, things just got, _intense_?" I tried.

Caitlyn laughed. "Oh no. Something happened. Shane treats you like glass after New Years." And this is the down side to not only living with your best friend but telling her everything.

"You're going to think it's weird." I said, not wanting to tell them.

"Spill. You and Shane _are_ weird. We're used to it." Anastasia said putting the last bit of cover up on my neck.

I sighed, knowing I couldn't get away with it, and motioned for them to close the door. I fell back on to one of the beds as they sat across from me eager to hear. "Okay, so you know how we went in their dressing rooms before the show?" I asked lifting just my head. The nodded. "Okay, so he was in the process of getting dressed."

Anastasia interrupted me, "You mean like he was… _naked_?" She asked.

"No, Stas." I laughed. "He had his boxers on. Not something I haven't seen before. No, that's not the weird part. He was putting his jeans on-"

Caitlyn interrupted me this time, asking, "How _does_ he get those on? I mean I love Nate and all, but your boy has a nice butt in those pants."

"With help." I mumbled.

"What?!" They screamed and then lowered their voices. "What?"

I rolled my eyes, "He was standing there with his jeans up, but open, and just checking me out, and he started teasing me a little, so I… I don't know, just reached out and closed his jeans for him."

Caitlyn awed while Anastasia wowed. "That was so motherly of you." Caitlyn teased.

"Please, and _she's_ the virgin?" Anastasia asked. "There was so nothing motherly about that. Your hands were like near his-"

"Hey, Donnie are the girls here?" We heard Shane ask, cutting off Anastasia's description of _where_ my hands were. Donnie said something, and we heard the guys all sigh.

Now whispering, we finished our conversation quickly. "I _know_. It surprised both of us. Shane asked what happened to his shy, innocent Mitchie, and personally I blame you! But, then he pulled me to him and said that we were back to New Years, and… yeah."

Anastasia shook her head. "That has _nothing_ to do with _that_." She said pointing to my neck. If you looked closely, you could see the purplish tint to my skin. It would fool a tired Rich for the night.

"Well, when we got back to his room, he kinda just pushed me against the door and we... went at it, I guess."

"What do you mean, 'went at it?'" Caitlyn questioned.

I rolled my eyes again. "We didn't _do it_, Cait. I meant we made out."

"Okay, good." She said.

"Though," I paused, "We almost came pretty close."

"WHAT?!" They screamed even louder than the first time.

I shushed them as they guys asked if everything was okay. "Fine!" I yelled back. "He… I ended up sitting on the counter… and he may have, been… standing, between my legs while we were…"

"Wow. At least you guys stopped." Caitlyn said reassuringly.

"Yeah. At least." I said getting up. "Come on, they probably want to talk to us."

I opened the door and smiled brightly at the guys. Shane and Nate were on one side of the table, and Jason was on the other. I slid in next to Jason across from Nate. "Hey, guys."

"Hi." Shane said shortly. He seemed upset about something.

"Hey, Dracula." Anastasia teased Shane as she knelt on the couch behind Jason, playing with his hair. Nate pulled Caitlyn onto his lap when she emerged.

"What is your problem?" Shane asked Anastasia a bit pissed off. Anastasia could tell he wasn't in a good mood, so she dropped it.

"Hey, Mitch, you've got powder in your hair. And on your neck-" Jason started saying before Anastasia's hand clamped around his mouth.

"Jason, shush." She instructed.

"Why do you… wait, seriously?" Nate leaned over the table as best he could with Caitlyn on his lap and looked at my neck. "Wow, you guys did a bad job of covering that. You can still see it."

Anastasia glared at him. "Bite me, okay?" She said annoyed. As realization of what she said, we all began laughing. "Pun was _so_ not intended on that, I swear." She gasped through her laughter. "Okay, but seriously, that was a good as we could get it. It's _really_ dark."

"Which explains the Dracula comment." Shane said rolling his eyes. "You're so unoriginal, Stas."

"At least I don't leave marks where our _guardians_ can see them." She replied quietly. At the surprised look they gave her, she shrugged. "Look at his collarbone one of these days, you'll see them eventually." She smirked. Nate and Shane looked at Jason clearly surprised.

"What?" He asked oblivious as always. "She has them, too." He shrugged. The guys gaped even more. Caitlyn and I laughed a bit.

"Okay, I propose a temporary change in sleeping arrangements." Anastasias said holding up her hand. "All those in favor say aye."

"Stas, you have to propose it first." Nate reminded her. She laughed to herself as he mumbled, "Too much time with Jason."

"Okay, okay, all those in favor of girls and guys sleeping separately for the night?" Shane and Nate's hands were the first one's up. Caitlyn and I laughed again.

"Works for us." Caitlyn said.

"Good." Anastasia nodded. "I don't want to cover anymore marks in the morning." She teased. I blushed while Shane tried his best not to smirk.

"Hey, guys!" Rich said coming on the bus. "Look, you're all together. There's a surprise." He teased. We were all thankful our conversation was over when he came in. "You've got two options for tonight. We can go stay in the hotel the interviews were at and drive all day tomorrow for the show the next night. _Or_ we can drive all night tonight, and then you guys can hang out in the city all day. Go shopping, see a move, etc. It's up to you."

"I don't think the girls _need_ to do anymore shopping." Nate muttered. Shane agreed, while we giggled. "But it would be cool to hang out for the day instead of being on the bus. Unless Donnie wants to rest."

"Not at all. I took a nap while you were performing. I'll pull over if I need to. You know that." Donnie answered from the front.

"Alright then. Have fun, don't make too much noise." He said heading to the back.

"Oh, Rich, the girls are gonna take the bottom and we're gonna sleep on top." Shane called back.

Rich stepped back to look at us. "Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because we were a tad bit mean when we went shopping, so we want to keep everything _appropriate_." Anastasia replied.

"More like Stas was mean, but yeah." Caitlyn agreed.

"Okay, then." Rich headed back into the back.

"Is everyone good to go?" Donnie called as he started up the bus. "Pup and I ready to roll."

Shane and I looked up to where Donnie was and saw Jacob sitting on the passenger's seat with Donnie's bus driver's hat on him. "Awe, Shane look at him." I cooed.

"You two are hopeless." Anastasia laughed at us.

"I'm gonna go get ready for bed." Nate said getting up a few minutes later. I turned my head and looked up at Anastasia who was grinning right back at me.

"You didn't!" Caitlyn gasped trying not to laugh. "Oh my god, you did." We heard Nate close the bathroom door. A few moments later we heard a rather girlish scream followed by an 'ohmygod'.

Nate came running out a moment later, "You can't do that! You can't, just, take over our bus, and… and put _that_ next to my tooth paste!" He cried. Shane was laughing as hard as we were, and Donnie was upfront chuckling. "Dudes, go look before you laugh!" He instructed Shane and Jason. I moved so Jason could go look as Shane stood up.

Shane looked in the bathroom and saw the now open cabinet. 2 different brands of certain feminine products sat on the shelves, mixed in with the guys' stuff. He shook his head laughing still. Jason looked at it blankly and didn't understand Nate's problem.

"What's the big deal? You can't share the cabinet?" Jason asked him.

Nate glared, but turned to Shane. "Okay, ignoring him. How can _you_ be okay with _that_?" He gestured into the bathroom.

"I have a sister, man. It's not something I haven't seen before. In fact, I_ warned_ you, having seen it before. You set yourself up for it."

"How?" He cried.

Anastasia took the liberty of explaining. "Remember the 'I hate those commercials' from this morning?" Nate paled a little. "Well, we _were_ going to let you guys off the hook and not put them in there, but we're all mature adults, or soon to be adults, whichever. You guys can't handle that girls get their period?"

"I, uh, do you _have_ to have two of _each… thing_?" He whined.

We laughed. "Yup. Caitlyn and I prefer one brand, Stas another."

Nate glared at us and went back into the bathroom mumbling something about being near his tooth paste again.

"Nate's right. We should go to bed." Shane said walking into the back to get changed. We all took turns and changed and brushed our teeth in the bathroom. By the time the girls all headed to bed, Shane was already knocked out. I was a bit put out by it, but Jason hugged my side reassuringly.

"He's being cranky. He gets like that. Remember New Years?" I looked at Jason and realized he was probably right. Though Jason probably didn't know why.

"Yeah, probably just like New years." I smiled. Jason kissed Anastasia and crawled up into bed. She hugged my side after that and we shared a look before crawling into bed as well.

I couldn't really sleep and spent a lot of time turning and tossing. Eventually Anastasia and Caitlyn had both rolled over to the one bed leaving me alone to turn all I wanted. About two hours after we'd all went to bed, I heard a deep sigh come from above us. A moment later, one of the guys came down from the bunk as quietly as they could and went into the front of the bus. I knew it was Shane almost immediately and looked at the two sleeping girls next to me. I carefully moved off the beds, careful not to wake them or Jacob who was at the end of my bed.

"Hey." I said quietly, startling him a bit. He'd been sitting at the table with his head in hands when I sat across from him.

He looked up surprised, but didn't seem happy. "Hi." He said with a bit of attitude. I knew better than to let him get to me.

"What's up? Can't sleep?"

"No." He affirmed.

"Why not?" I asked gently.

He snapped back quietly, "Because I can't."

"Shane…" I asked softly.

"Why are you so bipolar?" He demanded looking at me finally. His eyes were searching mine and I could tell her was upset about something.

"What are you talking about?" I replied. "_You_ are the bipolar one out of the two of us. You were fine when I left, and then you came back to bus all… pissy."

"Me? You were the one who-" He realized he was raising his voice and dropped it to barely a whisper, "You were the one who decided to _help me_ earlier and then when we got carried away making out you freaked and left."

"I did not leave because I freaked. I left because you needed to get changed and I didn't see that happening if I was there distracting you." I whispered insistently.

"I don't mean when you left the room. You said you were going to wait outside, and then you left with the girls. And you were in the back probably overanalyzing like normal." He accused.

"I left because of _this_." I hissed, moving my hair out of the way and showed him the now visible hickey on my neck. I didn't want to get cover up all over my pillows and everything, so I had cleaned it off. I watched as Shane's face became a visible O and he reached out to touch the bruise lightly.

"Damn. No wonder she called me Dracula. Ouch. Sorry. I didn't even realize I was doing it." He apologized.

"I _was_ waiting for you and then the girls had been outside, too, waiting and they saw from where they were standing. We had to get it covered before Rich or Donnie saw because they would _freak_. And then we'd all be in trouble." I explained, slightly annoyed that he was mad over something stupid.

"I'm sorry." He took my hand in his, "I thought you were 'letting the awkwardness go' again while you were with me and then freaking out once you were alone or with the girls. I hate that you do that. When something's bothering you and you don't tell me. Sometimes I can see it, like today, with boob girl. But other times I don't, and I can't fix what I don't know is wrong." He told me softly.

"I know. I try not to. I wasn't freaked out by what happened in your dressing room." I said quietly. "Either time. I'm not sure _why_ they happened, but they did. So, moving on."

"Okay, moving on." He agreed. He laughed as he looked at me. "See, _this_ is what I mean about you being bipolar." He pointed to my thermal. "Why do you wear that when you _aren't_ in bed with me, but when you _are_, you _don't_?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It's like when you leave your hair curly. It's something I don't feel comfortable doing unless you're around."

"Most people would think it'd be the _other_ way." He said, still confused.

"I guess, it's like what my mom told me when I was kid. I couldn't understand _why_ the princesses in Disney movies _always_ fall in love with the prince. So I asked Mom why she fell in love with my Dad. She told me that she finally felt like _herself_ around my Dad. That was why the princesses always fall in love with the princes. Because they just _feel it_. They feel, _whole_.

"After we got back from Mass, I asked her what she meant about being herself. Did you know that she didn't learn to speak Spanish until she started dating my dad?" I asked him, interrupting my story.

He looked at me puzzled. "You're dad sounds like Buzz Lightyear from the tv show, _not_ Spanish. You're mom is the one who _sounds_ Spanish."

"The only Spanish Mom knew was 'Si, si, nina, si.' My grandfather never spoke Spanish, especially around my grandmother, because she's white and he wanted to be an American, not a Hispanic immigrant. But Mom realized how much she loved speaking Spanish when she was with my dad. The only time you ever hear it though, is in those private moments when they speak Spanish or Abuela talks to her in Spanish."

"That was a nice story about your mother, but I'm missing the point, Mitch." Shane said looking at me confused.

"I'm getting there. It's sorta like that. I'm more confidant around you. I break out of my shell a bit. I love seeing that look on your face every time we get ready for bed and I see you looking at me with this intense look in your eyes. It excites me. It's something I find I enjoy, _a lot_." I looked down, away from him. "I feel more like myself when I'm around you." He lifted my chin, and leaned across the table to kiss me.

"You have no idea what you do to me." He groaned leaning his forehead against mine. "And by the way, you are _not_ allowed to curl your hair anymore until we're married."

I was shocked at his firm belief that we would be married but let it go. "Why?" I challenged.

"Because you drive me absolutely _insane_. Why do you think New Years was so bad? And then tonight… on top of how _amazing_ you looked, you had the perfect curls that… ugh. I sound completely insane right now, don't I?"

I shook my head no. "Not at all. So is that why you were giving me crap this morning about curling my hair?"

He nodded. "You look amazingly sexy like that. I mean, you look sexy to me all the time, but you look extra sexy when you curly your hair because so out of the norm for you." He explained.

"Okay, no more curling my hair." I agreed.

He smiled a bit confused. "Really? I half expected you to intentionally curl it drive me insane, since you enjoy driving me insane before bed every night."

I leaned in again and whispered, "Wanna know a secret?" He leaned in as well. "Knowing I drive you insane is driving me insane, too." He smiled and kissed me softly.

"Lord help us." He shook his head laughing. "How are we going to survive this tour?"

I shrugged. It didn't matter to me. As long as we were together, I could handle it.

I feel like a journalist trying to make my deadline sometimes with this. Lol.


	21. Chapter 21

Hey! Glad you liked the last chapter so much. Not much to say about this one. Or in general. Oh! There is a little matter of… 5 reviews away from 600! And that I think the milk in my cereal is going bad as I eat it. … Anyway, enjoy this random chapter.

Chapter 21

We stayed up most of the night talking. After moving to the couch to talk, we eventually fell asleep somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. I awoke to voices a few hours later.

"They were the whole point of _not_ sleeping together last night." I recognized Anastasia's voice laughing slightly.

"Why are we up? We have the whole day to chill, why can't I sleep?" Nate mumbled.

"We wanted to watch HotTunes, that's why!" Caitlyn said.

"_Why_? I hate that show." Nate complained. I heard the TV click on, and finally opened my eyes and blinked. I felt Shane stirring, too.

"Must you be so loud?" Shane complained.

"Yes." Anastasia laughed extra loudly. Shane glared at her through half opened eyes. I kept quiet, and just stayed where I was. I was laying between Shane's legs, resting against his chest.

"Ooh." Caitlyn said sitting on my feet to watch the TV.

"Your welcome, Cait." I said wiggling my toes under her. She ignored me as the opening of the news report started.

"Uh, we don't care about them." Cait whined.

"_Fans were in awe as Connect 3 brought their girlfriends out on stage last night, singing a never before heard song. The girls were in tears while their boyfriends sang to them. The night reportedly ended in an almost 5 minute kiss between each couple. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: these are some lucky girls. These seem to be the sweetest guys out there."_

"Wow. We look like crap." I laughed. We all had makeup running down our faces.

"Yeah." Anastasia agree. "Did we really kiss for _that_ long?"

Caitlyn looked over at her, "I don't know. I wasn't keeping time."

"Ha. You're funny." Anastasia made a face at Caitlyn, who made one back.

"Real mature, guys." I said looking between the two.

They shared a look and replied, "Sorry, _Mommy_." I blushed as I glared at them. Shane laughed underneath me.

"So, now that we're all _awake_, can we eat?" Shane asked changing the subject. I saw Caitlyn and Anastasia about to make another comment but they opted not to.

"Yes, please." Nate begged. "I haven't actually eaten since breakfast yesterday. I don't think any of us did."

"Oh, we should totally go out to eat tonight!" Jason suggested. We all agreed.

Rich came in around that time. "Wow, you're all awake. You guys really seem to do everything together. Anyway, we are at the hotel, you guys are all checked in. We got floor suite with 5 rooms for all of us. Each room has a bathroom in it. You can go get showered and everything and then go do as you wish. Be back tonight and I will be checking in with each girl and/or couple periodically to ensure nothing funny is occurring." By the time Rich finished his spiel, we were all on our way to the back already. Shane had grabbed my stuff and his and went back to Rich first.

"Key?" He asked.

Rich handed each guy a key. "Please, everyone go up together. Then I don't care, but at least going in." Everyone nodded and made our ways out of the bus. "Mitchie!" He called out to me a few seconds later. We all looked back at him. He called me back to him. He whispered in my ear "Cover your neck, please?" I gasped and my hand shot up to my neck. I think my mouth open and closed a few times. Speaking to all of us, he laughed, "Fair warning, I see anything like that again, I will be forced to take action. If you're going to leave evidence, don't let me see it."

We all nodded again and headed into the hotel lobby. My hand was on my neck and I was blushing like crazy as we filed into the elevator. As we headed up to the floor, we agreed to meet back in 45 minutes. Shane opened our door and moved inside. It wasn't huge, but it was comfortable. It had one big bed in the middle of it with a dresser and a TV. Shane dropped our stuff on the bed and sat down.

"You wanna shower first?" He asked. This was where we _clearly_ did not thinking this out. We had 5 bathrooms available to us, and yet we decided to only us 3 of them. And to make it worse, we had hormonal teenagers _sharing_ these bathrooms with their girlfriends and boyfriends. Hmm. This sounds dangerous.

"Yeah. Sure." I grabbed my shower stuff and headed into the bathroom. 10 minutes later, I realized Shane had to get in there asap if he was going to straighten his hair in time. Not thinking properly, I walked out of the bathroom in two towels. One around my body, the other around my head. I could have at least grabbed the bathroom, but did I? No.

"Babe, get in there." I said walking to my bag at the end of the bed. He stayed there for a moment and then stood. I didn't think anything of it as I heard the door close. I hadn't been looking at him, so I didn't notice the way _he_ had been looking at _me_.

I realized as I began getting dressed that my boyfriend had just seen me in my towel. I tried to calm myself down before he came back out. This was the last thing we needed after the conversation we had the night before. I couldn't be freaked out. It was fine. He'd see more in a bathing suit.

I was standing in jeans and a bra when he came back out. He cleared his throat and had his eyes closed as he leaned in the doorway, holding his towel to his waist. "Baby, can you put a shirt on?" He asked. I nodded, though he wasn't looking at me, and tried to not stare at him.

"Sorry." I said slipping on the shirt I'd planned on wearing.

"Stop freaking out." He commanded, going through his own bag.

That startled me. "I wasn't."

He walked over to me, _still_ only in a towel. "You can't lie to me, Mitch. I know you." I got distracted by his hair and began playing with the curls. "You were standing there for about 3 minutes staring off into space when I came out." I smacked him for standing there for 3 minutes.

"Go get dressed." I commanded tugging lightly on his hair.

He smiled. "Not gonna help me this time?" He teased heading into the bathroom.

"Nope!" I laughed as I began drying my hair.

A loud banging on the door caught my immediate attention. A frazzled Nate stood in front of me. "What's wrong?"

"I- she- naked- bad idea." Nate said sitting on the bed. "Who's idea was this?"

I laughed and thought for a moment. "Either your's or Stas. And it's not like you haven't seen her naked before, nor are you the only one who has had an awkward experience this morning as a result of this."

"So Shane saw you naked, too?" Nate asked hopeful.

"No." Shane laughed coming out of the bathroom now fully dressed and towel drying his hair. "Mitchie came out in only her towel and didn't realize it until I was already in the shower."

"That's not as bad. I had to get my gel, because the humidity is- ugh, anyway, I opened the door to grab it off the sink where I left it and she was getting out of the shower, and… yeah." Nate explained.

"Like Mitchie said, it's not something you haven't seen before- wait, this isn't about you seeing her naked because it was awkward, is it? This is about you- Mitchie, why don't you go check on Caitlyn." I shrugged and left the guys to talk. I took my hair dryer with me and went to Caitlyn's room.

"Cait, it's me, open up." She opened the door and looked like she was crying. "Aw, what's the matter?" I asked.

"He- and then he- god I hate guys." She said sitting on her bed. Her curls were beginning to friz and I knew she'd be made later.

"Why don't we worry about stupid Nate later, okay?" I said as I began drying my hair again. She nodded and started to gel her hair, glaring at it as she did. "And for the record, I think it's a completely different reason than you think." I said.

"Really? He told you?" She asked surprised.

"He sorta was freaking out. Shane told him about our adventure and he told us about yours. Shane's talking to him now. I have a feeling it was more of a 'Oh my god, I remember why I slept with her, I really want to again, crap!' than a 'Oh my god, I just saw my girlfriend naked, wow this is awkward. I think I'm gonna run away before she overanalyzes this.'" Caitlyn laughed.

"I like that reason better."

A knock sounded on the door. "Caity?" Nate asked uncertain.

"Okay, I'll go finish this in my own room." I laughed taking my hair dryer with me again and letting Nate in. Nate smiled at me as he entered.

As I entered my own room again, Shane was in the bathroom straightening the last section of his hair. "No fair." I pouted.

"What?" He asked.

"I was hoping it'd still be curly when I got back." He laughed before kissing me quickly. "I just need to finish my hair, can you find my socks in my bag?" He nodded. A few minutes later he came back with socks, looking sheepish. "That took a lot longer than expected." I teased.

"Couldn't find the right pocket." He said not looking at me. My face turned bright red.

"Which pockets _did_ you find?" He wouldn't answer. "Seriously? Which one?" He still wouldn't answer. "Both of them? Shane!" I hit him in the arm gently with my hair dryer.

"It's not my fault. Would you have liked me to say, Mitchie, which pocket is it? Cause I can't seem to find it. I found your bras, oh wait, now I found your underwear, too." He asked.

I pouted. "I don't like you sometimes." He kissed my pout away.

"Sure you don't." He teased going back out to the main room to put on his own shoes.

That morning was entirely too awkwardly un-awkward. For all the awkwardness that _had_ occurred, it didn't feel awkward. It was as if Shane and I understood each other a lot better now. Awkward occurrence were going to happen, but now we were able to move on without letting them get in our way.

"Girls!" I yelled into the main room a little while later. Caitlyn and Anastasia stuck their heads out of their doors. "Help?" I asked pointing to my neck. They laughed and we met up in Jason and Anastasia's room.

Anastasia reapplied the cover up, and Caitlyn handed me a chocker necklace. It reminded me of Jacob's collar. It was a green leather strap with black squiggles all over it. It would cover the faint purple you could still see through the cover up and the cover up itself, which wasn't exactly my skin tone.

"Can we eat now?" Jason asked from the doorway. Shane and Nate were behind him shaking their heads in agreement.

"Yes." We laughed and stood up to leave the room.

"Green. I like it." Shane said kissing my cheek. I rolled my eyes.

Caitlyn shrugged. "I didn't have one that matched her shirt, and everyone knows that _you_ love green."

"Good thinking, Cait," Anastasia laughed, "Now he'll be inclined to leave more marks."

Imitating Anastasia, Shane replied, "Now he'll be inclined to leave more marks." Returning to his own voice, he continued, "Seriously, you _aren't_ funny."

"I think she's funny." Jason commented.

"Jason, you think everything is funny." Nate replied.

"I do not." Jason argued.

"You do." In the background of Nate and Jason's argument was Shane and Anastasia's on going argument.

I looked at Caitlyn. "You smell." I said giving her a fake attitude.

"No, you smell." She replied the same way.

"No, you smell."

"No, y-"

"Guys!" Shane interrupted us. "We get the point: stop fighting." he laughed and pressed the button to close the elevator.

At breakfast, none of us could decide what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. We kept arguing.

"I say we go see a movie." Jason suggested.

"Why? That's so… we can do that anywhere." Anastasia argued with him, surprisingly.

"I saw a bowling alley on the walk over here." I suggested.

"Again, can be done anywhere." Caitlyn added.

Shane sighed, "Okay, why don't we go… I don't know." He gave up. "Who knows of anything that you can only do _here_?"

Jason raised his hand. "Where exactly _is_ here?" We all groaned.

"I've got an idea. Why don't we all split up for the rest of the day and then meet up for dinner. We're going to get sick of each other if the six of us are _always_ together." Nate suggested.

We all nodded in agreement and discussed amongst the couples what we would do. Shane and I decided to go bowling. I don't really know what the others did.

I laughed at Shane as he made a face at the rental shoes. I slipped mine on without a problem. A few people in the place recognized us, but that was mostly the younger people working. Otherwise there weren't too many people in the lanes. It was perfect.

"I haven't bowled in forever." Shane said as I stepped up to the line. I looked back at him and smiled before rolling the ball. I knocked down most of the pins with my first turn. I had been off to a good start with the first game, beating Shane by a lot, but by the second game it was really close. He ended up winning the last two games we played.

We stopped playing when the guy working the shoes came over to us. "Hey, uh, I thought I'd warn you, we have a Junior League coming in, in about 15 minutes. It' s mostly a bunch of screaming teenage girls who go crazy when your song comes on the radio. I figured if you were bowling, you probably didn't want to be found." The kid said. He had to be about my age.

"Uh, thanks, man." Shane said and started putting his shoes back on.

"Afraid of a bunch of teenagers?" I teased.

"Yes." He said laughing. "You know the day I heard you singing in the mess hall, I was actually running away from the screaming fan girls at Camp Rock?" He told me as we handed over our shows.

"You went to Camp Rock?" The clerk asked. "I didn't mean to be listening, but, is it worth it? I mean, it's a lot of money, but I really want to go."

I smiled at him. "It is _totally_ worth it. And if you go, you'll definitely be seeing us there."

"Really?" He asked. Shane suddenly placed money on the counter, ending our conversation.

"Thanks, again, kid." He said pulling me out of the bowling alley.

"That wasn't nice." I smacked him.

Shane glared at me a bit. "He was totally flirting with you."

I rolled my eyes. "He was not. _You_ mentioned Camp Rock."

"Like he doesn't know where we met." Shane scoffed.

"Most teenage males _probably_ don't." I replied.

"Yeah, okay. He knew who we were, he knows the story." I shook my head, laughing at how jealous he was. I stopped walking and pulled him back to me. Very quickly, I kissed him and told him to shut before I kept walking.

When we met up with the others, Caitlyn and Nate seemed pretty irritated. "Please tell me they found you, too."

"What?" I asked sitting down at the table.

Nate sighed. "We got chased by the paparazzi but those two didn't because they were in a movie theatre."

I bit my lip. "Sorry, we went bowling. _No one_ goes bowling." I laughed.

"And I so won." Shane bragged.

"And you so got jealous of the shoe boy." I replied.

Nate and Jason laughed. "Yeah, Shane _does_ get jealous." Nate said.

"Oh, like that time that Chris said maybe he'd date you since Shane screwed it up and then Shane hit him!" Jason said not realizing what he was saying.

"Wait, what?" Caitlyn, Anastasia and I asked.

"Did I say something I wasn't supposed?" Jason asked as Nate and Shane glared at him.

"Ew, he said that?" Caitlyn asked. "He's like… 30."

"He's, like, 25." Nate replied. "Just drop it."

I gave Shane a look, letting him know that we would talk about it later.

"This is good chicken." Anastasia said, changing the subject.

"It is. What do you think they used? Like to season it?" Jason asked. "I taste something really good I can't identify."

"Sweetie, it's lemon chicken." Anastasia replied.

"That's what that taste is. Awesome." Jason smiled.

You could always leave it up to Jason and Anastasia to lighten the mood. Their relationship wasn't as serious as mine or Caitlyn's, but it was theirs. Anastasia was slowly opening Jason up to being less of an airhead. Sometimes, we all thought he just played into more than he was. Then we had birdhouse moments with him and thought differently.

After we got back from dinner, we all parted ways. Shane closed the door behind us slowly as he entered behind me. He knew what was coming and was dreading it.

"Can I take a shower first?" He asked kneeling next to me on the bed as I laid down. I nodded slightly, letting him know he could. While he was in the shower, I changed for bed and wiped the cover up off my neck. We were definitely going to have to buy cover up that matched my skin tomorrow.

Shane came back a little while later and sat back against the pillows next to me. I sat up and waited for him to start explaining.

"He was getting sick of my shit and I was getting sick of his. I was depressed and mopey and didn't want to be there. He started yelling at me, but it didn't do any good. And because he's an asshole, he started talking about you, trying to get a rise out of my that way. He started saying stuff like you were ruining my career, and stuff, but that wasn't working either. Then he, uh, then he said, that maybe he should date you. You know, since you like older guys. I, I just snapped."

I wrapped my arms around him and he pulled me into his lap. We didn't say much that night. We mostly sat there holding each other.

"Oh my god!" I scrambled to find my phone a while later. "I haven't called my mother yet. She must be like super worried." I quickly dialed her phone.

"Oh, look, my long lost daughter who can't call or answer her phone." I heard Mom say before I could say anything.

"Sorry?" I said meekly.

"You'd better be. And you also better have a good reason for not calling. Like having too much fun." I laughed, happy Mom wasn't mad at me. I spent the rest of the night sitting in Shane's lap talking to Mom on the phone.


	22. Chapter 22

Hey guys. This one is a bit, um, short. And there was a point to mentioning the Chris thing. It was to show how protective of Mitchie he is. That's going to come into play. Allison, _SourSkittles_, you'll like this chapter. :P I apologize for its shortness and tad bit lateness, I think. It's impossible to write this story when you're arguing with someone named Joe at the same time. I had to wait until I was done talking to him, otherwise every time I wrote Shane, I wrote Joe instead. That and he was generally distracting. So blame my Joe. Lol.

Enjoy. I hope.

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Chapter 22

The tour went by in a blur. Traveling, interviewing, rehearsals, concerts, autographs, screaming teenage girls hitting on our boyfriends, traveling. Of course during the traveling, there was hanging out, making out, _pigging_ out. Oh yeah, we did it all while on tour.

Our first two weeks went by pretty seamlessly. The next free day we had, Shane and I took Jacob to the park. While we knew Donnie didn't mind watching him, I was going through withdraw. Shane was too. Though Caitlyn and Anastasia made a few more 'mommy' and 'daddy' comments, Rich was kind enough to make sure the rest of our hotels were pet allowing, letting Jacob stay in our room.

Nothing major happened, or at least nothing different that hadn't already occurred. Shane and I were able to control ourselves better now that we were on the same page with everything. Except there were a few, _lower_ marks left behind. Anastasia hasn't stopped calling him Dracula since. Although, Shane and Nate came out of the back one night laughing their butts off, trying to speak. Jason came out after them glaring. The guys had all been changing for bed when Shane and Nate noticed the Jason _did_ have marks on his collar bone.

"Seriously, guys, why is it so funny?" He demanded. "Just because you do all the work doesn't mean I have to." He said sitting next to Anastasia who began laughing at the stunned expressions on the other two's faces.

"But you do your share, honey." Anastasia kissed his cheek.

"Seriously?" Shane asked, still laughing on the floor.

Anastasia nodded. "I'll show your girlfriend later." She promised, winking at me. I laughed having already seen them. Things were fun and mostly drama free at first.

However, on day 17 of the tour, tragedy struck. Not really, but it was pretty horrifying. _It_ finally happened. One of us got our period. And guess who the lucky one was? Yup, me.

Thankfully, I wasn't wearing white and the guys didn't notice. We were at rehearsal with the guys when Caitlyn asked if I was okay. I kept holding my stomach and walking slowly. I was also wiggling in my seat. I nodded weakly and she looked at me with narrowed eyes. I saw her thinking for a moment. "Do you… _ya know_?" She asked since the guys were within hearing range. I nodded.

"Awe. Is it just starting?" Anastasia asked. I nodded again. "Okay, well, at least it didn't happen while you were sleeping. Could you imagine if Shane woke up next to you like that?" I laughed a little, but it hurt too much to laugh loudly.

The next day, though, while we were on the road, I was in even more pain. Shane was really sweet, though. He didn't realize I had cramps, of course, but he saw I was in pain and was catering to me.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked. I noticed that the more intimate and closer Shane and I became, the more he started calling me 'baby'. And the weirder part was that I liked it. And I occasionally called him baby or babe in reply, too.

"Nothing." I mumbled sitting holding my stomach as I bent over. He sat behind me on the floor and started rubbing my back. "That feels really good." I said moaning slightly.

"What did you do? Do you not feel well?" He asked. I looked over my shoulder at him and glared a bit. "Oh." He said as realization hit. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Sorry. What can I do to make you feel better?"

"Keep doing what your doing." I answered.

I yawned and stood up, surprising Shane. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom and then go lay down for the rest of the drive." I said. When I went to lay down, Shane was laying down on our bed already with Jacob curled up next to him. "Shane, I didn't mean you had to come lay down, too." I laughed looking at him.

"Well. I figured I could keep doing what I was while you fell asleep." I smiled at him.

"Can I steal a pair of sweats from you?" I asked laying down. "These jeans are _not_ sleepable."

"Sleepable?" He teased as I rolled over onto the other bed. "Here." He tossed me a pair of his sweats and closed the door for me.

"Yes, sleepable. The ability to sleep in or on the described object." I said as I changed. He had his eyes closed and was laying down again. Now changed, I crawled over to him. "For example, _you_ are sleepable." I snuggled against him.

"Because you can sleep on me?" He teased. I nodded and smiled brightly. "Roll over." He instructed and I rolled onto my stomach for him. He began rubbing my back again as I drifted off to sleep.

I'm sure your wondering, 'wait, you closed the door and no one questioned this?' Yes, they did question it, but Caitlyn explained that it was best to let me sleep and that Shane and I weren't going to be doing anything. Nate of course had to question in it, though. I wish I had seen his face when Caitlyn told him why we wouldn't be doing anything. Unlike Anastasia and myself, she took pity on her boyfriend and didn't laugh until later.

Surprisingly, being on a moving bus is really good for cramps. The vibrations really help. Oh, and your boyfriend massaging your back while you fall asleep was nice, too. I woke up an hour later when Donnie pulled over. The sudden jolt of the bus stopping woke us up.

Shane lifted his head and looked at me. "Guess we stopped."

I didn't mean to, but I snapped at him a little. "Naw, really?" I asked getting up. I walked out into the main room and saw everyone stretching and getting ready to get off the bus for a little while.

"You should have _seen_ Nate's face." Anastasia laughed the moment she saw me. I was still a little grumpy so I just looked at her. "Oh. You're at that point. I'll shut up now."

My first day was always the worst. I got super painful cramps and back pain, was seriously moody, and would do nothing but sleep. After that, though, I would sleep a lot but I was in a better mood and less pain. Anastasia and Caitlyn knew this. Nate, Shane, and Jason? Not a clue.

"Is she going to be like that all week?" Nate asked Shane, not realizing I could hear him.

"If you think _I'm_ bad, try talking to your girlfriend in 3 days." I remarked darkly from across the bus. Nate kind of shrank back into his seat after that.

Caitlyn laughed though. "She is right. I'm warning you all now, don't bother me unless you want your head bit off."

"Wait, so we have to deal with two of you at the same time?" Shane asked.

I glared at him. "Yes. You do. My Dad deals with 3 at a time, so I think you can handle it."

"See, that's the problem with living with other females." Anastasia said. "Your bodies sync to one another." She turned to Nate and Shane. "On the bright side, once a month you'll be able to cry to one another when your girlfriend tries to kill you." You could always count on Anastasia for useless information.

Shane smiled and kissed my head. I smiled up at him. I saw Nate shake his head and I scowled at him.

"How come we've never experienced you guys like this before?" Jason wondered out loud.

I shrugged. "Because we usually hide." I laughed.

"Okay, can we get off the bus now?" Jason asked. We all nodded and left the bus.

I was getting cranberry juice and attempting to read the labels. Shane came over to me with a handful of candy bars. "Candy bars or ice cream? Nick always attack the ice cream but Mom always snuck in the Hershey's when we were kids." I smiled at him being so thoughtful, and I could see him having gone to the store to get Nicky ice cream, too.

"Both. Caitlyn and I like to indulge in both." I answered.

"Some how, Nate knew that. He was the one who told me to ask. He wouldn't ask himself. I took you as a candy bar girl, but he asked if I was _sure_. He didn't want to be around it I got it wrong." Shane shrugged and leaned against the refrigerator case next to the one I was looking in. "What are you doing?'

"Trying to find Cranberry juice." I answered. Shane looked in the case and saw 3 or 4 brands of it staring at us. He looked at me and I laughed. "I wanted to find one that was all natural. Concentrate isn't good for you."

"Just because I'm allergic to it doesn't mean _you_ can't have it."

"True. But, concentrate isn't good for anyone. Not really. And while I usually wouldn't care, I figured I'd get juice you could drink, too." He laughed and headed over to get Caitlyn and I ice cream.

When we got back on the bus, I sat next to Nate who looked mortified. "Thanks for making Shane check, Nate." I said hugging him slightly.

"What? With the ice cream?" Nate asked. I nodded. "Oh, I know Caity is always saying she has a craving for ice cream, I just never realized it was because of… _that_. I figured he should make sure before you got upset."

"Nate, you are so afraid of girls it's hilarious." I smiled before I stood up again. "I'm going back to sleep before I scar Nate anymore."

"You want your juice?" Shane asked. I shook my head no and closed the door behind me.

It opened and closed a minute later and Shane placed something at the bottom of the bed before slipping back onto it with me. "What's that?" I asked.

"Your juice."

I rolled my eyes and gave him a bit of an attitude. "Shane, I said I didn't want it."

"I know. I put some in a water bottle for you incase you want it later, so you don't have to get up. It's right there." I smiled sleepily at him.

"Come here, pillow." I commanded and he laid on his back next to me. I laid my head against him and fell asleep.

I was better the next day, and Nate let out a large sigh of relief that I was back to being myself. Though, I was sure he was a little freaked out by the small garbage bag we girls opted to leave under the sink. We thought it best to _not_ leave certain items in the actual garbage. There was also no way we were changing pads in public rest rooms.

I was in pain still, though not much. Two days later, though, Caitlyn was equally in pain, if not more. She put her head phones on and ignored Nate who looked a little put out. I sat next to him on the couch as he looked into the back where Caitlyn was sitting on the bed.

"Just hold out for the day. She gets easier to deal with. She knows she's a massive pain in the butt when she has _it_." I teased him a bit, and watched as he blushed. "But she gets better. She secludes herself so she doesn't fight with anyone. The first two months she lived with me we fought like crazy during… now. Why don't you take her a bowl of ice cream, a spoon, and a candy bar. Don't stay long unless she wants you to. Tell her you didn't know which she wanted, so you brought her both, and ask if she needs anything else. Okay? Good, go."

Nate smiled at me. "Thanks, Mitch." Shane sat in his vacant seat.

"What was that?" Shane asked. I didn't answer. I was watching Nate edge back toward Caitlyn. He sat on the edge of the bed and gave her the ice cream and stuff. She smiled at him and asked something I couldn't hear. He blushed and she laughed again. Then she nodded to the door and we didn't see them for the rest of the night until we went to bed.

Another problem we had on tour? Shane asking me to sing with him. While I loved doing so, I wasn't ready to sing in front of a bunch a people. "What's different between now and then?" He asked, referring to singing at Camp Rock.

"Camp Rock was my peers I wouldn't see again for awhile. Now is your psychotic, screaming fans. And there's a _lot_ more of them. I'm just not ready to, Shane." I answered apologetically.

The only other problem was the fighting or arguing. Much like _the fight_ post Christmas, when one couple fought, all the couples fought. Although, it wasn't always the girls against the guys. Sometimes it would be Anastasia, Nate, and Shane against Caitlyn, Jason, and I. Other times, it wouldn't be couples fighting, but we were all still arguing. We always fought 3 by 3, though. And the arguments never lasted more than a few hours at the most as they were usually something stupid. Of course, it was something stupid that usually broke the ice, again, too. Like the time we were all standing up yelling at each other and Donnie turned a little too quickly, knocking us all over. We started laughing so hard we forgot what we were arguing about.

Other than that, there weren't too many problems on tour. We got along pretty well, and made sure to have alone time. We became like a giant family, like typical brothers and sisters fighting. It was fun. We goofed off, played around, pranked each other, well mostly Anastasia and I pranked Nate, but you get the idea. There wasn't anything thrown at us that we couldn't handle.

Oh, wait, there was one more _tiny_ problem. One that not even Caitlyn was aware of prior to the tour. It was something we almost couldn't handle. Something I'd forgotten about until it was there. The worse time of the year for me. And my entire town. It was the only time high school wasn't impossible to deal with. The one time they understood. My dark day.

65000+ words. Ha.


	23. Chapter 23

_You are __not_ going to like this chapter. It's emotional. And angsty. Very big on the angst here. Not cute and fluffy like recent chapters. It's down right deadly. Okay, that was a bad pun. Sorry. And for those of you who do not know: **Dark Day: **A day of solitude when a person slips away from reality and interacts with no one to reflect on something usually personal and traumatic. This chapter is very emotional. Please no flames about the back story. Nit pic everything once Rich speaks, but before that, if there is something wrong, don't tell me. I couldn't keep reading it to check. Questions are allowed though. ): Blame SourSkittles for letting me write this, by the way (BTW!)

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Chapter 23:

Please forgive me if I get a bit emotional in the following paragraphs. We all have things about our pasts that we want to stay hidden, buried, gone forever. But we know they can't and we allow ourselves that one day a year to remember and forget for the next 364. I never really forgot until I met _them_. Caitlyn and Shane. They changed my world and they never knew it or understood why. There was a reason Sierra reacted the way she did when Shane came into my life. The way she did when Caitlyn came in.

I didn't let people in easily. There was a reason. I kept to myself and tried to stay out of people's way. Friends were a difficult thing to have. A dangerous thing to have. At least for me they were.

I wasn't always a loner. I used to have lots of friends. I had my _clique_ and then I had other friends who in 10 years I wouldn't be able to recall their names or faces, perhaps their existence. It used to be Sierra, Nicole, Justin and me. Justin was a guy. He was so much like Jason. The lovable airhead that got along with everyone. It was part of the reason Jason and I were so close. Because he reminded me of my best friend Justin. Justin who was… who was killed. Justin who was killed when he was 13. Killed because he was beaten to death. Beaten to death by a bunch of immature, narrow minded, idiotic, stupid boys. Boys who thought Justin was gay because he hung out with 3 girls and wasn't dating any of them. Because he didn't play sports and his clothes always matched. Because they couldn't fathom that guys and girls could be friends.

Because they didn't know that Justin was my first kiss. Shocking, I know. You all thought it was Shane, right? Nope. My first kiss was when I was 12. It's okay, they didn't know either. Because they didn't bother to ask why he was glaring at them the way he was. They assumed it was desire when really it was jealousy. Because I had a crush on one of them and I asked Justin to help me practice kissing, and Justin liked me. I never knew Justin liked me until he was gone. When Nicole blamed me for Justin's death. When I lost two best friends in a matter of months. When Sierra was the only one other than my parents who stood by me as I slipped away myself. When I became depressed to the point I couldn't function.

I'd almost forgotten about Justin. Though every time I hung out with Jason I could feel Justin's presence. I knew he was watching me and I knew he was okay with Shane. Jason was Justin's way of watching over me. I called Jason my guardian angel one night and he simply smiled and said 'I know.'

I'd forgotten about Justin up until the night before. Rich came into the bus after a concert. He announced, "Okay, schedule for June 26th." It wasn't the first time he'd said it like that and it wasn't the last. But it was the date that rang out to me.

"What?" I cried out. Rich stopped and looked at me confused. "What is tomorrow's date?"

"The 26th, Mitch, why?" Shane answered. My eyes began to water as my hand flew over my mouth. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten. I ran out of the main room and slammed the bedroom door shut behind me. I quickly ducked into the bathroom, closing that door as well and locking myself in. I took off the bracelet on my wrist and pushed my sleeve up. There were small faded scars on my arm. You could barely see them when they were fresh and you can barely see them now.

I heard Shane and Caitlyn bickering as they approached the door. But surprisingly, it was Jason's voice that cut through. "Let me." He said surprising everyone. "She talks to me. _You_ ask too many question." He said to Caitlyn. "And _you_ try to hard to understand when you just don't." Shane muttered something while Caitlyn sighed. A moment later the bedroom door closed and a soft knocking came on the door.

"Mitchie, you can't hide. We _are_ on a bus. I can hear you crying. But I'm gonna wait out here for you, okay?" He said sitting down on the bed with audible squeek. I took a deep, calming breath and opened the door.

"Jason?" I said quietly as I sat next to him. "I need you… to do me… a favor." I had to keep taking deep breaths. He nodded enthusiastically, willing to do anything for me. "Can you, tell Shane… tell _everyone_… to just.. leave me alone… for the next 24 hours.. or so?"

"Oh, okay, Mitchie. You gonna be okay?"

"I need… I need you to… come back… and stay, stay with me… okay?" I said as the tears tried to come back. They were winning the battle, too.

"Uh, are you sure you don't want Shane to come back? Or do you need to talk?" He asked hovering in the door way.

I shook my head. "I can't talk… not to you… I just… I need someone… someone to watch me… and I can't… I don't want Shane… I don't want Shane to see me like this. Tell him, tell him that… someday I'll explain… but I can't-" I stopped as sob escaped my throat. Jason hugged me tightly before quickly going out. I heard Shane yell and demanded to see me, but Jason followed through on my wishes and wouldn't let him. He came in a minute later with a candy bar.

"Here. Chocolate makes everything better." He promised smiling slightly. I smiled. "It was left over from PMS Fest." He laughed sitting on the bed with me.

I laughed, though watery. "Thanks, Jason." I said taking the candy from him. I looked down for a moment and then looked him in the eye seriously. "Jase, I know you don't always have a clue as to what is going on, but when I need you you're always there. Thanks."

"Not a problem. Sometimes being clueless is better than if I understood half the stuff you've told me."

I nodded again. It was dark in the room. It usually was when we were back here, unless we were getting dressed or the sun was up. There were no windows back here, making the only light coming from around the doors. "Jason, I might… I might start talking. And it won't be to you, or it might be, but it won't be. That made no sense." I shook my head.

"No I get it, I think. You'll be talking to me but not to _me_." I was a little surprised Jason understood that.

"Okay, so I'll be talking to _someone else_. Don't freak out, okay? And don't tell the others. Also, if you see me get up and go to the bathroom, don't let me. If I say I need to use the bathroom, make one of the girls go in with me, okay?"

He didn't ask questions, he just nodded. I smiled at him and hugged me knees to my chest. My dark day officially began.

It had only been about 11 o'clock. Tomorrow was the last night of the tour before Camp Rock which started on the 1st. A little while after I locked Jason and myself in the room, I heard my phone ringing out in the main room. I looked up and Jason went to the door to tell them to bring it to me. Shane answered it, seeing that it was Sierra as he brought it to Jason.

Before he could say two words, Sierra's rushed voice came blaring over the phone loud enough for everyone to hear. "Oh my god, Mitchie, I was hoping I could catch you before you went into Dark Day mode." Shane looked up at me with worried eyes. "The town is doing this tribute thing for Justin because it's the fifth anniversary and all, and this organization about teen acceptance and violence and everything is doing this big thing, too, and the news is going to be here, and there are giant pictures of us with him, and you look the exact same and they're going to know it's you, and who knows what people are going to say when they remember."

I froze. I blinked. Then I ran into the bathroom. Jason was quick to react and caught the door before it closed. I think he might crushed his fingers a bit. "No, Mitchie, come out here."

"No. Leave me alone, Jason."

"No." He replied pushing the door open. I heard Sierra on the phone with Caitlyn because Shane was right behind Jason coaxing me out of the bathroom. "You said not to let you in the bathroom alone and I know you don't have to pee." He replied forcibly.

I came out and collapsed on the bed crying. "I'm so sorry, Shane. I'm so sorry." I kept crying and repeating that I was sorry. He rubbed my back, not saying a word as he and Jason shared worried glances.

I cried myself to sleep. When I woke up it was early in the morning, but Donnie was still driving. I slipped out from under Shane's arm and headed into the main room. It was about 3 am, but I need to talk to Sierra.

"Hello?" A sleepy and hoarse voice asked.

"Sierra?" I cried.

"Oh, Mitchie. I didn't mean to tell them. I thought it was you."

"It's fine. I had already locked myself away. Jason was with me."

"Because he's like Justin." She said understanding. I usually took Sierra with me on my dark days. "That's good. I was worried you'd be alone."

"No. I think if Jason didn't make them, they wouldn't have let me. They care a lot." I said. I started crying again. "Sierra, I can't believe I forgot."

She sighed. "You didn't forget. You moved on with your life, Mitchie. You remembered when you were supposed to. It'd be better for you to forget. You know he wouldn't want you to be like this." Her voice dropped a bit and she asked awkwardly. "You didn't cut, did you?"

"No." I said softly. "I was going to when I heard you on the phone. Jason stopped me and then Shane calmed me down until I fell asleep."

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked.

I assured her, "I should be. But I'm going to keep someone with me. I don't want to repeat last year." Last year I tried to convince myself that I could handle my dark day alone. I couldn't. I cut my self 7 times that day. "They all no the basics now, just not everything. I'm sure Jason told them what I told him."

"Okay, well, tomorrow is that big thing. I'll try to keep your name out of everything, okay?" She promised. I thanked her and said good night.

I didn't notice Shane leaning against the hallway wall the entire time I was on the phone. "You okay?" he asked, startling me.

"How long have you been there?" I gasped.

"Since you left the bed. I wasn't asleep. It was my turn to watch you." I opened my mouth to apologize but he cut me off, "Relax we're taking turns because we all argued about who was going to stay up and watch you. Caitlyn wanted to, and Jason said it was his job since you told him to, and I said you were my girlfriend, blah, blah. Nate and Stas came up with taking turns." He'd been leaning still throughout his entire explanation, but finally sat down at the table, facing me on the couch. "You had us all worried. You wanna talk?"

I shook my head no as I sat across from him. "No. I can't- I can't talk about it yet. Not with someone who doesn't know the story. I can't explain it yet." He nodded, a little hurt I could tell. "I didn't tell Jason." I said, hoping to cheer him up. It worked. He smiled half heartedly at me.

"Why were you apologizing before?" He asked.

"They're gonna know. I don't know what they'll find out. But they'll find out that my best friend was-" I choked on the words as I said them. "Was killed when I was 12." His eyes softened considerably as he held my hands tightly in his. The tears were coming again. "I don't know what they'll find out, but somehow it's blow up in our faces. I just wanted to forget. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, after the whole… Erica thing." I said, keeping my eyes lowered. "I just, just couldn't-"

"It's okay, Mitchie. I understand. This is a lot different then my thing." He stood up, pulling me with him. "Why don't we go back to bed, okay?" I weakly let him pull me a long. I noticed finally that I was in a pair of sweats and one of Shane's tees.

"How did I get changed?" I asked.

"Cait and I changed you. Sorry." He said quietly.

I shrugged. "I don't even care right now." I replied.

We missed HotTunes the next morning, so Caitlyn wanted to watch the evening edition during the guys rehearsal time. They made me go into the hall with them, afraid to leave me alone or with only the girls. Shane and Jason didn't want to let me out of their sights, and the only solution was to have me glued to their sides practically. We all piled into Shane's dressing room and watched the TV, just for Caitlyn.

"_In surprising news, this afternoon a tribute to a young man killed 5 years ago caught paparazzi's attention when in pictures the unmistakable face of Mitchie Torres stared back at them. Torres was evidentally friends with the young man at his time of death. The shocking part was when another of the victim's best friends approached one of the large pictures and threw things at Mitchie's face, crying, 'It's all her fault! And she's not even here. She just left and forgot. It's all her fault.' She repeated her blame of Torres as family members dragged her away crying. It's leaving us wondering, what secrets are looming in Torres' closet?"_

I was shaking by the time the report was done. Shane was holding me and Caitlyn looked at me feeling guilty. Jason and Stas sat next to me trying to help Shane calm me down. Nate was in the corner muttering about backlash and disrespect and other things.

"Oh god," I cried. "They're gonna find out _everything_." I cried. "The depression… the hallucinations… the cutting… everything." I was to busy in my own world to notice the worried looks on my friends faces as I confessed more than they thought possible of me.

I began panicking and pushed my way out of Shane's arms and ran to the door, needing to get outside. I felt like the entire concert hall was closing in on me and I ran. I ran until I couldn't breath. Shane caught up to me and grabbed my waist, holding me against him from behind. He was speaking to me, trying to calm me down, but I couldn't hear him. I could only hear my own blood pulsing in my ears. I started gasping, unable to breath. Suddenly, everything started loosing focus. I looked at Shane and gasped out, "Shane- I can't, can't.. brea-"

Don't kill me! If you do you'll never find out what happens!


	24. Chapter 24

Okay, you all owe me. Like lots of reviews. Because I just stayed up 2 extra hours writing this for you. So, if you don't get a new chapter tonight, don't complain, okay? Good. This chapter is a bit weird. It's in other people's points of view, but Mitchie explains each before. And can I say I love Jason? Okay, I love Jason. And Justin. I love all of my characters.

If **you didn't read 23**, make sure you do. They were updated a few hours a part.

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Chapter 24

I honestly can't tell you what happened when I passed out, I can only let the others tell you what they saw happening. So, for the first time in this tale, I'm going to let someone else tell you what happened. We'll start with Caitlyn.

_Do you know what it's like to hear you best friend's boyfriend screaming your best friend's name as she passes out in his arms? No? It's a pretty horrifying experience. Especially when you're blaming yourself. If I hadn't watched HotTunes, she wouldn't have freaked out. _That's not true. I would have freaked out eventually. _When she ran out, I was the last one to move, to realize what was happening. I was the first to catch up to Shane, though. I've never ran so hard in my life. I reached them just as Mitchie fell limp in his arms._

"_Shane, what happened?" I cried as he struggled to keep her up right. I reached forward to help._

"_I don't know!" He yelled. "Mitchie, baby, wake up."_

_Donnie came running out of the bus when he heard me yell, Shane's yell not prompting him to move, just to look._

_It was a blur as they rushed Mitchie onto the bus and laid her on the couch. Donnie said something about a panic attack, but I couldn't really understand what was happening at that moment. Donnie started tell us all to do stuff and ask questions. All I could do was stand there like a statue watching. I heard Nate say something to me, but didn't register what he said at first. I had been lost in my own world of guilt and worry._

"_Caity." He said softly shaking me. "She's going to be okay. Donnie said she had a panic attack. She should wake up in a few minutes." He comforted. I fell into his arms crying hysterically. "It's not your fault. You didn't know."_

_It was Shane's words that shocked me. "It would have happened eventually, Caitlyn. Stop worrying." His eyes never left Mitchie though as he sat on the floor holding her hand. It was hard to not worry when I saw him just as worried._

Shane's experience is my favorite, personally, but I'm going to save him for last. Jason had a _unique_ take on things.

_Mitchie started rambling to herself and it didn't phase me. She warned us about her doing that. Or she warned me. Either way. Then she started pushing away from all of us. I tried to stop her, but she managed to get a way from Shane and I. Shane was able to catch her, but we heard him start screaming. Then Caitlyn screamed. So I screamed. Then I saw Mitchie passed out in Shane's arms. Donnie came out before anyone else could scream. I grabbed Stas' hand and dragged her back to the bus with me. She was super tense. I guess she was pretty freaked out. I was too. But I knew to stay out of Donnie's way. Nate, Shane and Stas started moving around but I could only look down at Mitchie and wonder what happened._

"_She had a panic attack." Donnie told me. "Her emotions overloaded and she had a momentary lapse. She'll be fine."_

"_Are you sure?"_ _I asked insistently. "She better be." I threatened slightly. Shane smacked me as he sat down next to Mitchie. I sat on the floor next to him, just watching like he was. Stas, Caitlyn, and Nate sat down as well. I wonder if this is what the dwarves felt like watching Snow White, hoping she'd wake up?_

Awe, Jason. See? My guardian angel watching over me. Nate, however worried he was, was less sweet about it.

_When we brought Mitchie inside Donnie started directing us to grab stuff like a pillow and wash clothe and stuff. I saw Caitlyn not moving, just staring in Mitchie's general direction. "Caitlyn, wash clothe?" I said to her, telling her again what Donnie told her to get. I saw Stas hand it over. "Cait?" I said again, but she was in her own world, I guess. "Caity." I shook her gently, not wanting to startle her too much. "She's going to be okay." I said softly. "Donnie said she had a panic attack. She should wake up in a few minutes." She started crying in my arms as I did my best to comfort her, "It's not your fault. You didn't know." I rubbed her back. Shane said something I didn't quite hear, and Caitlyn stopped crying. She pulled away from me and knelt next to Shane. I sat down behind the two. Stas sat down on the other end of Caitlyn. All we were doing was sitting and watching her and I was getting annoyed._

Gee, thank you for your compassion, Nate. Moving on. Now while all this was going on, I had no idea. I was busy in my mind. Talking to Justin. Yes, I know. I'm insane, right? But I was. Or I thought I was.

"_Shane?" I said sitting up. I was on my bed back home. It was the last place I saw Justin alive. He was beaten after walking Nicole home. That was when he told her the truth about his feelings for me. He died 6 hours later before he could ever tell me._

"_Nope, princess. Just me." I heard Justin's voice say. I quickly turn to where he stood in my door way._

"_Justin? But you're-" I gasped. I knew I wasn't imagining things again. I hoped._

"_I know." He said looking down. "Guess I wasn't as much of a fighter as I thought, huh?"_

"_Why are we having this conversation? I've talked to you before about all of this…" I didn't understand. I'd hallucinated about Justin many times. He never said he was dead after the first one, he joked it off about not really being dead. But now he'd been admitting it._

"_Because you weren't ready to let go then." He said simply sitting my bed to face me. "Back then you weren't ready to move on. You always felt guilty. You never let yourself live, unlike Sierra. How is she?" He asked._

"_Better than I am," I said quietly. "It's easier for her. It wasn't her fault."_

"_It wasn't yours either. It's theirs. You need to realize that. You didn't beat me to within an inch of my life and leave me there."_

_I was crying. "You were jealous of them. Of him. She told me."_

_Justin shook his head. "What I told Nicole before I died has nothing to do with my death. It has nothing to do with them beating me. They didn't understand things about life and took it out on what they thought they knew. Did you know that Tyler's dad left them when he was 9? For another guy?" He asked. I shook my head no. "He didn't understand why his father would do that. He didn't understand that people make choices. He can't do anything about it. He couldn't take it out on his father, so he took it out on me. He took out all that anger toward his father and his partner on something similar to him. I don't blame him. Do I blame Rodger, Chris, Aaron? Yeah. I do. But I don't blame you. You shouldn't either. One of these days your going to go too far on one of your Dark Days and you won't be able to fix it."_

_I sighed. "Mitchie, you have a good life, now. I wish I was still a part of it, but I'm not. You have Shane, and the rest of them. Jason. I like him. He reminds me of my self only… a little stupider." Justin said._

"_Yeah, he can be." I laughed. "Wait, how do you know about all of them but not how Sierra is?"_

_He smiled. "Because I'm in here." He pointed to my chest, my heart. "I know what's in there. As much as you love Sierra, she's been replaced. You still have all of our memories, but now you have new ones. Ones that she isn't part of. They are. I know how much you love Shane. That you want to spend the rest of your life with him. I know that Jason took my place. He's your best friend and confidant. I know that Nate is like the brother you never wanted. He's there for you and you have your moments, but there's things you wouldn't tell him. I know that Caitlyn is like your sister. You know her as well as you know yourself. You'd tell her anything out of trust, but you don't out of concern for her. I know that Anastasia is your friend, and that while you're becoming closer, you sometimes question yourself on how close you want to become. Whether or not you want to be as close to her as you are to Caitlyn or not. I know that you love me and you'll never _truly_ forget me. But you need to move on. You were until today. You also need to confront Nicole. You need to tell her she needs to let it go. It wasn't her fault and it wasn't yours."_

_I cried and through my arms around him. "Justin." I cried on him a little before he reluctantly pulled away. I heard far away voices arguing as he began to fade. "Justin?" I asked reaching out to touch him. "Justin!" I cried out._

"_Good-bye, Princess." He whispered._

Now would be a good time for Shane's experience, which will bring you to what I know.

_I held Mitchie, having finally caught her. I was trying to calm her down when she gasped._

"_Shane-" She said, catching my attention._

"_Mitchie?" I questioned as she started to lean forward._

"_I can't, I can't brea-" She fell against me, passed out._

"_Mitchie!' I screamed, trying to hold her upright. In that moment I was aware of many things. The many running feet behind me, the bus maybe a few hundred feet from me. While everyone else was in their own worlds, I seemed to be experiencing an out of body experience in my own body. I was functioning unlike some and yet I was seeing everything. I could sense and feel everything going on around me._

"_What happened?" Caitlyn cried as she helped me hold Mitchie up. Jason screamed. Nate and Anastasia didn't say much. Donnie came running out of the bus and helped me carrying Mitchie to the bus. Caitlyn seemed to move without realizing it while Jason dragged Stas with him. Nate was following quickly. Jacob was going crazy when we brought her inside,_

_We placed her on the couch and Donnie concluded that she'd had a panic attack. Jason threatened him slightly. I smacked him as I returned with the pillow he instructed me to get. Caitlyn had been told to get a wash clothe, but Anastasia brought it. Caitlyn was in her own world. I could tell she felt guilty. We all did. She just didn't realize it. We should have stopped watching the channel when we realized what was on. Instead, like an impending car crash in slow motion, you can't pull your eyes away. I told her to relax. She came to sit on the other side of me from my seat next to Jason on the floor. I held Mitchie's hand and waited for her to wake up. The others did, too, while Jake sat in my lap, with his paws up on the edge of the couch staring at Mitchie confused._

_Nate however, grew impatient. "While she's knocked out, can we _please_ discuss what just happened?"_

"_No." I said firmly._

"_She's got _serious_ mental issues, Shane. I'm not trying to be a jerk." Nate stood up, probably out of fear that I would swing back and hit him._

"_I'm aware, Nate." I replied, grinding my teeth._

"_I don't think you are. She's got an interesting history with her-"_

"_Would you stop thinking about _business_ for two minutes?" Anastasia snapped at him "So what if she's screwed up. We all are."_

"_I didn't mean it like that." Nate replied heatedly._

"_No, you were just mumbling about backlash sounding like the creepy guy from Spiceworld." Okay, so aside from the random reference, she was right. _

"_I was saying that backlash was the last thing _she_ needs on top of her 'Dark Day'. And that it was disrespectful of them to report it _today_. I don't always think about how this effects the band." He replied and I did recall hearing him mumble about disrespect as well._

"_Nate, you do a lot." I replied. "But I believe you that you weren't. Stas let it go." Then Anastasia stood up._

"_No. I won't. She needs us to be there for her, not worrying whether or not this is going to make headlines." She yelled._

"_I'm trying to be there for her. But we need to discuss-" Nate was yelling as well now, but Anastasia cut him off again._

"_We don't need to discuss anything!"_

"_Yes, we do!" He yelled back. "We need to know what we're going to do with her -and I mean that in the matter of she's fragile right now- because we have a concert we cannot cancel tonight no matter how much we want to."_

"_See there you go-" Thank fully, Mitchie, woke up at that point, screaming 'Justin'._

I gasped screaming out, "Justin!" Trying to keep him from leaving. I shot up into a sitting position with Shane's hand clasped tightly in my grip. I was breathing hard and Shane was rubbing my back.

"You okay, baby?" He whispered, moving so he was now kneeling next to me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You had a panic attack. Why were you screaming Justin?" I smiled, noticing the jealousy underneath the concern.

"You're going to think I'm insane." I laughed. I heard Nate say something but Anastasia hit him. Shane sent him a look over his shoulder as well.

"Just tell us, Mitch." Jason said moving my now sweaty hair out of my face.

"I… talked to Jason."

Before Nate could help himself, I think, he asked, "You were hallucinating?" He sounded worried about me though.

"I guess. I think I was dreaming. It wasn't like the other times. I was always conscious and delirious then. I sat up in my bed, at home, and called out Shane's name, because the last thing I remember is being in Shane's arms. Justin was there and we started talking. He made me realize it was okay to live my life and not feel guilty. I hadn't ever given dating much thought until Shane because I always felt guilty."

"Why? You told me I was your first boyfriend?" Shane asked and I could once again see the hurt and jealousy swimming in his eyes under the concern,

I laughed. "You were. You are. Justin liked me. I didn't know that. I told him I'd had a crush on… one of _them_. He told Nicole that he liked me the day he was… She blames me because she thinks they thought he kept glaring at them because he wanted them, not because he was jealous. She thinks if he wasn't jealous it never would have happened. But that wasn't the only reason they thought what they did." This was hard for me to tell them, but at the same time, telling them was surprisingly easy.

"He reminded me that it was okay to move on. Friends change. He said he's in my heart, and he'll always be there. He started telling me all theses things he knew that were true. Things about all of you. My feelings about all of you. He told me it was time to move on." I explained.

"Are you okay, now? Do you want to call your mom or Sierra or something?" Shane asked. I nodded and stood up off the couch. He stood up too and followed me to the back. "Here." He handed me his phone. My was currently MIA it seemed. I stayed in the back on the phone for a while.

When it was time for the guys to get ready, Shane wouldn't let me leave his side again. I sat in his dressing room smiling at him while he slipped on his tight jeans. "My mother would freak if she knew half the stuff we've done on this tour." I giggled, curled up on a couch.

"You mean like the numerous times we've changed around each other?" He asked slipping his shirt on.

"Amongst other things." I said softly. He squatted in front of me and looked down at me.

"I love you." He said quietly. "I know I tell you that a lot, but I want to make sure you know how serious I am."

"I know." I whispered. "I love you, too." He kissed me before standing up again.

"Nate's going to have me do damage control tonight." I looked up at him confused. "He wants us to dedicate this concert to Justin. He wanted to last night when we heard Sierra. But we didn't know what exactly it was. HotTunes can't blame us for waiting until tonight. And they'll look like the asses. Not us." He explained.

I rolled my eyes, laughing slightly. "Good old, Nate."

Shane nodded, laughing, too. "Yeah, good old, Nate."

"Hey, how long do you think it would take for you and me to get on a plane back to New Jersey?" I asked as he looked down at me from his standing position. I sat up to look at him better. "Justin… wanted me to talk to Nicole, but I don't think I can do it alone, and I want to get it over and done with."

"We can get on the plane as soon as you want. I'll talk to Rich and see how quickly we can get the Lava jet here, okay?"

"I meant, like a commercial flight, but whatever works." I laughed at him.

"If you want to wait 'til morning to fly out, sure. You made it seem like you wanted to go right now." He said and I could hear the blush in his voice, though it wasn't showing.

"I do, but I can wait until morning." I relented.

"Okay, come on." He held out his hand and we left his room.

True to his word, they dedicated the concert to Justin. "Hey, guys." Shane said fixing his mic a bit. "Before we start tonight's show, we wanted to dedicate it. Mitchie's best friend was killed 5 years ago, and when she told us about it, we wanted to do something special. Unfortunately, she's still upset about it, so she decided to stay on tour instead of going home where it's a lot to handle. So, tonight's concert is in memory of Justin and for Mitchie, and everyone out in the audience right now who's lost someone and hasn't really come to grips with it. You can't replace a friend, a sibling, a parent. But you can remember them. And that's all you can do. So here's to Justin!"

"To Justin!" Nate and Jason said into their own mics. I was crying and Caitlyn and Anastasia wrapped their arms around me while Shane looked back at me and smiled. I smiled back as the tears fell for the last time over Justin.

Okay, Camp Rock should be soon. After the Nicole confrontation, which might get glossed over. As to how many chapters this is going to be, I still have another 'year' of the story I want to do. I can either stop at the end of Camp Rock and pick up the sequel there and make this a trilogy... Or I can end it at the point I have in mind and then pick up the sequel from there. Let me know what ya'll think.


	25. Chapter 25

Cetus Lepedus! For those of you that caught that, good for you. Lol. Okay, so the Nicole confrontation, and a Mitchie/Mommy conftontation… well more of a conversation. Mitchie's growing up. Tear. Thanks for all the reviews and everything, and it serves you all right that you cried. Cause I did while writing it. Lol. I went to bed at 6:30 this morning. Okay, so now the early morning chapter update because I didn't give you your evening update tonight. Ha. Ya'll are addicted. Admit it.

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Chapter 25

The next morning Shane and I caught the first flight out to New Jersey. Of course he demanded we take first class, but that was alright. I really didn't mind all that much. I was nervous and I knew he could tell. We still hadn't really discussed anything that had happened. I knew he wanted to know, but I wasn't sure I was ready to tell him. I knew I had to, before the press got wind of it.

"You okay?" He asked me after we were in the air for about 10 minutes. There weren't many people on the flight because it was early.

"Honestly? No." I answered. He squeezed my hand, unsure of what to say. "A lot of what I went through was because I felt guilty. I was upset, but not guilty until Nicole told me about…"

"Baby, you don't have to tell me anything. This is hard for you, I know. I'd love for you to tell me because I want to understand, but you don't have to." He said as he turned my face to look at him.

"I want to tell you. I want you to know before the press tells you." I told him.

"I know." He smiled. "And I appreciate it. Just like I didn't want to tell you about Erica, sometimes we're forced to explain things. I don't want you to tell me until you can."

"How can you not be mad that I didn't tell you?" I asked still confused. "I was so mad at you about the Erica thing, and then we promised to tell each other everything, but I didn't tell you about Justin."

"They're different. I have a past with Erica that you should have known about. Justin was a horrible experience that you said yourself you forgot about. Would I have liked a heads up on the Dark Day? Yeah, but you seemed utterly surprised to hear the date and then just… ran. You aren't ready to tell me now, and you were a lot less ready to tell me after Christmas. It's okay."

"I do want to tell you." I said softly looking away again.

He smiled. "When you're ready."

"If… if I start, and can't finish, is that okay?" I asked. He nodded. I took a deep breath and prepared myself. "After he died… I got depressed. We all did. Nicole seemed to take it the worst. While Justin and I were like brother and sister to me, they were like brother and sister to him. She liked him, he liked me, I liked _him_, _he_ beat…" I took a deep breath as the words stuck in my throat.

"It's okay, you can stop." Shane said rubbing my knee. I shook my head and cleared my thoughts again.

"She told me about 2 weeks after he died. We'd all cut ourselves off from one another. It wasn't the same without him. Her parents were planning on moving because of it, and she decided to finally tell me the truth. 12 and 13 year old girls have little to no idea what tact is. She came over to give me my stuff I'd left at her house and just started yelling and crying.

"She told me it was my fault. That if he didn't like me he wouldn't have… She told me she hated me. That it wasn't fair he liked me when I didn't like him and now he was gone and it was all my fault."

Shane waited patiently as I sat quiet for a few more minutes, thinking.

"After she told me, I began to get even more depressed. Sierra's mom called to see how I was doing, and Mom told her she was worried about me. When Sierra's mom told Sierra about how bad I was, Sierra got scared. She didn't want anything to happen to me and she was the first one to rebuild the bridge between us.

"She sat with me, petrified, the first time I started hallucinating. It was the only reason I knew Justin was dead, and not sitting there laughing with us. She said he was dead, and Justin said to me that he wasn't _really_ dead, he just wasn't around everyone anymore. I believed it. He wasn't always with me or anything. But he'd show up randomly.

"Every time I saw him, and realized he wasn't really there, I would freak out." I took off my bracelet and showed him the scars on my wrist. He had to look closely to see them. "I started cutting after each one. They're tiny, but they're there."

He lifted my wrist to his lips, and kissed it softly. "Have you… have you at all since we've been together?" He asked cautiously.

"No." I shook my head. He seemed satisfied with that answer so I moved on. "Sierra witnessed quite a few hallucinations. They freak her out, but she's there for me. She thought I imagined you, too." I said softly. "Sometimes I have to sit and look around and ask myself if this is all real. That's why I cut myself. To make sure I wasn't dreaming again. If it hurt I knew it was real."

"Mitchie-" I started and I knew he was going to ask if I cut, again."

"No, Shane, I haven't." I looked him the eyes and spoke as sincerely and honestly as I could. "Because I know this is real. Every time we fight, or you leave, or something upsets me: that emotional pain is enough to remind that it is real."

"Can I make a request?" He asked softly. I nodded. "Can you stop wearing your bracelet or long sleeves? Just so I know. For my own peace of mind?"

I laughed. "Sure. I don't wear them to cover my wrist from others. I'm not ashamed of the scars being there because you can barely see them. I cover them from myself. They remind me of how bad I was. I'm ashamed of having caused them. That I did that to myself."

"Oh," Shane said, not sure what the difference was or what to say. "Okay." He paused. "Was there anything else?"

"No." I said. "Just the depression and the hallucinations. But everyone in school knew by September when I went back to school that _something_ was off. Sierra wouldn't let anyone near us and Nicole wasn't there. We isolated ourselves. A few people had heard from their parents that I was depressed or losing it. No one ever questioned me, but they knew. Somehow they all knew. Sierra never left me alone because she was afraid I would start talking to myself and that would be bad. By the time we got to High School, everyone moved on and forgot about it. But in light of recent events, I'm afraid it'll all come back.

"That was why Sierra didn't believe that I was dating you. Because of my past with imagining things. She thought Caitlyn was either equally insane or just playing into it for me. Sierra wouldn't, she was afraid to let me believe what wasn't real."

"Well, I am real. And I _really_ love you." He kissed my knuckles and I smiled at him.

"You're such a goof." I laughed softly.

He shrugged. "But I'm your goof." I shook my head laughing at him.

We didn't talk much about my past insanities again for the rest of the flight. Unless someone else brought it up, we actually never spoke about them. Every now and then I would see him glimpse at my wrist which remained uncovered for him after that conversation.

As we finally landed a while later, my nerves came back. He did his best to soothe me as we rode in a cab. I had called Sierra and gotten Nicole's address from her. Thankfully she still lived in New Jersey, only a few towns away from me. Shane offered to drop me off and then head back to my parents if I wanted to do this alone. I begged him to stay with me. There was no way I could do this on my own.

I was afraid she would slap me or slam the door in my face when I rang the door bell. Her mother opened the door and gasped, surprised to see me. She hugged me tightly, having not seen me in roughly 5 years. I hugged her back before pulling away.

"Is she here? I need to talk to her." I said softly, not looking at the woman who was once a second or third mother to me.

She must have nodded because Shane gently nudged me inside where we sat on the couch. I heard her call Nicole downstairs.

"What Mom- what are you doing here?" She demanded as she saw us sitting on the couch.

"You and I need to talk. It's been 5 years, Cole, and we haven't spoken since. It's time to put things behind us and talk this out." She seemed guarded but sat on the loveseat across from us.

"Why is _he_ here?" She asked avoiding the subject.

"Because I need him here." I answered. "Nicole, you have no idea what I've been through-"

"Oh, please. You've been off touring around the country with your Pop Star boyfriend. You don't care. You weren't there yesterday. _He_ was too important." She glared at Shane.

"You really have no idea what you've done to her." Shane replied.

"Shane." I said trying to get him to stop.

"She had a panic attack yesterday because of you. Do you know what it's like to have someone stop breathing right in front of you?" He asked and watched as her face lost some of it's stoniness.

"I've got this, Shane." I said softly. He stopped and sat back on the couch. "Cole, ever year on his anniversary I lock myself away in my room because I go insane. For the first year he was gone, I _was_ insane." Something in her eyes flickered. "Ask Sierra. I would talk to Justin in front of her, believing he was really there. I would… I would cut myself afterward…just to prove to myself I wasn't insane. That it was real."

"Kay." She said softly.

"But I've finally come to terms with it. It wasn't my fault-" I said before she sobbed.

"I know. I know, Kay, I know." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "I wanted to blame you. I wanted you to feel guilty, too. I didn't want to carry all the guilt myself."

I moved to sit next to her. "What are you talking about, Cole?"

"If he didn't walk me home… they wouldn't have been able to… they knew he had to walk all the way to the outskirts… and from my house it was a long way. No one would see them or wonder where he was."

"No, Cole, it wasn't your fault. It's theirs. Justin wouldn't blame you-" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shane smiled. "And he wouldn't want you blaming yourself. Nicole, the only people who can feel guilty are the ones at fault. _They_ did this. Not us." I wrapped my arms around her.

"I miss him, Kayla." She cried into my arm. "I got so mad at him that night because he told me he liked you. I was so jealous. I gave him the biggest attitude. He looked really hurt when he left." She cried.

"Oh, Coley. It's okay. He knew how much we cared about him."

She sniffled and sat up. "I know." She whispered, running her fingers under her eyes to brush away the tears. "I'm sorry for giving you an attitude. I guess I was just jealous-" I saw Shane roll his eyes. "Because you were able to move on with your life. And not just like Sierra has, but _really_ move on. It hurt to know you weren't there because you were off on a tour."

"You lose track of time on tour." I said, laughing. "Rich, their manager, has to tell us what day it is every morning and what tomorrow is every night. I didn't realize what day it was, and I didn't know they were doing anything special until Sierra called me in a panic because of the press."

"I saw the HotTunes thing. Sorry. Is that going to cause you a lot of problems?" She asked Shane.

"Sorta." Shane shrugged. "More for Mitchie and me than the band."

"That's not stopping Nate from complaining." I mumbled.

"He _was_ worried, Mitch. He was the only one trying to figure out what to do with you when you woke up. He didn't think it'd be best for us to just shower you in attention when you probably wanted to be alone, and we need to figure out how we were going to handle you being so upset. Stas just took it the wrong way and fought with him on it." Shane said advocating for Nate. "He does care, he's just very… level headed and business like in his approach."

"I know. Sometimes he just comes off way too business conscious. It upset Cait."

"Really?" Shane seemed intrigued by that. I nodded. "I'll talk to him."

Nicole politely coughed, reminding us of her presence. "So, are you heading back on tour when you leave?" She asked.

"No, we're going to Camp Rock for the rest of the summer. Then I go back to school and Shane… does whatever pop stars do in the off season." I teased him slightly.

"I heard your song. It was good. I wad glad you were able to do your music still." I nodded slightly. "I haven't painted since…"

"Maybe you should." I suggested. "I started singing again to pull myself out of my depression."

"This Is Me. That was about being yourself and not caring what others thought. Being strong enough to say 'I don't care what you think'." Nicole said smiling slightly. "It reminded me of Justin."

I nodded. "At first. It morphed into something bigger." I smiled at Shane. "But my original point was that it doesn't matter who you are, you should never hide it. People can think whatever they want. Even if its wrong."

"It's still the same point, Mitch." Shane said. "It's just more about saying it to another person directly now, instead of in general." I nodded in agreement.

Shane excused himself after a little while, claiming he wanted to call Nate and check on Jacob. I smiled at him as he left. "Jacob?" Nicole looked at me.

"Our puppy. My puppy. Our puppy." I corrected myself before giving in and admitting that it was ours.

"Awe. That's cute." She said. "I've missed you, Kay." She said softly.

"I've missed you, too, Cole." I replied.

Shane stayed in the kitchen talking to Nicole's mother for a while, while Nicole and I caught up. He knew she and I need time to catch up and didn't think I needed him there anymore.

However, he eventually came back in. "Mitch, we need to get going soon. Your parents are going to want to talk to us when we randomly show up. I don't want to get there too late."

"Okay, why don't you go call us the cab and I'll say good-bye?" I suggested. He nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

"You two act like your married." Nicole observed looking at me with her head tilted in a fashion Jacob and Jason do a lot.

"We do." I giggled. "But we aren't. Not even engaged. Just… promised." I shrugged. "It's just the way we are."

"You love him?" She asked.

"With all my heart." I replied instantly. "And I know he feels the same." She hugged me again.

"I'm happy for you, Kayla."

I groaned a bit but laughed. "Thanks, Coley."

"I haven't heard that in so long." She said with a half smile. "You're the only person who gets away with calling me that."

"And you were the only person who ever got away with calling me Kayla."

"I still doesn't understand how your parents got _Mitchie_ from Michaela." I shrugged. "We have to hang out again. With Sierra. I know we've all moved on and everything, but it'd be nice to keep in touch."

I agreed. "Yeah, maybe if I have time after Camp Rock before school. Or a weekend or something."

"Yeah, sure." She smiled at me. We heard a car horn. Shane and Nicole's mother came in a moment later. We said good-bye and left.

"Thanks." I said as I laid my head against his shoulder in the cab. He kissed my head and laid his own against mine.

When we pulled up to my parents house, Shane grabbed our small suitcase we brought with us. I rang the door bell, not wanting to scare my parents by just walking in.

Dad opened the door and almost screamed. "Mitchie? Shane? What are you doing here? Connie!" He called ushering us into the kitchen where Mom was, as always.

"Mitchie? Shane?" She asked. "You guys are supposed to be on your way to Camp Rock… on the bus… with the rest of them… Oh my god, what happened?" She instantly went into panic mode.

"Mom. Relax. I just needed to talk to Nicole, so Shane and I took a flight in. We were hoping we could just go with you, _or_ we would fly into an airport on the bus' way and catch up with them." I said.

"Of course. You and Shane can come in the van with me. One of you might have to sit in the back with all of the stuff, but," Mom said.

"Where's the dog?" Dad asked. He'd grown very attached to my puppy.

"We left him on the bus with Nate and Caitlyn. We didn't want to bring him to Cole's with us." I explained.

"That reminds me." Shane said looking over at me. "Kayla?" He questioned. Mom and Dad smiled.

"Cole doesn't understand how they got Mitchie from Michaela, but knew I hated Michaela, so she called me Kayla, which also bugged me. So when I called her Coley, we compromised. I call her Cole, she calls me Kay." He nodded, not fully understanding. I laughed and kissed his cheek.

I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers through his. "Mom, Dad, I have a question. A request. Um, would it be okay if Shane stayed in my room while we're here?" I asked. Shane's head snapped particularly fast to look at me, surprising my parents more than my question had.

"Mitchie…" My mom sighed unsure.

"If you want, he can sleep in Cait's bed, or I'll sleep in Cait's bed. Whatever. I just… I'm still anxious over the whole Justin thing. That dream I had was _in_ my bedroom. I'm afraid I'm going to freak out."

"I think we can trust them." Dad said, surprising us all. Mom looked at Dad questioningly. "We trusted her to be on tour with him without either of us there, I think we can trust her in our own home where we happen to be with them." I smiled at my father gratefully.

"Thank you, Daddy!" I hugged him tightly for a few minutes.

"Steve, why don't you and Shane go see if a game is on?" Mom said, kicking Dad out of the kitchen. We all knew it, so Shane and Dad left to go watch TV. "Okay, let's go. Tell me." Mom said.

I blushed. "We may have shared a bed the entire tour. But nothing happened! I swear. Rich would _freak out_ if anything did. I mean, he gave us all a warning after the hickey, so-"

"Hickey?" Mom interrupted. "Who had the hickey?"

"I did." Surprisingly, I didn't blush. "We got a little caught up, but nothing else happened. Shane just left, a uh, pretty big mark on my neck." Mom shook her head laughing. "What?"

"The first time your father gave me a hickey, I had to wear a scarf for two weeks. I wouldn't let him near me." She said smiling at the memory.

"Wow." I laughed. "I don't think I needed to know that." Mom shrugged.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Mom asked.

I looked down at the table thinking. I didn't want to tell my mom about the many times I've seen my boyfriend almost naked in the last 2 months. But there was something else I wanted to tell her. "Mom… do you think, after Camp Rock, you can take me to, um, a, uh gynecologist?" Mom choked on her tea a bit.

"Sure, honey… um, why?" She asked trying to get her breath back.

"Um, I… I want to, to go on the pill…" I said as confidently as I could.

"Oh." Mom said slightly surprised. "I didn't realize you and Shane were that serious. I also thought he had a purity ring. Maybe we shouldn't let you sleep in the same bed…"

"Mom, relax. We aren't. He does. You can." I said slowly. "I just, sometimes you get caught up and you don't realize you should stop until it's too late. I don't want anything that to happen. You raised me to know that until I can say, 'Mom, I want to have sex' that I shouldn't be." I explained.

"Sweetie," Mom said laying her hand on mine. "You just did." She said. I looked at her oddly. "When ever you and I would talk about it, you'd stumble over the word sex. You couldn't say it. Now you can. I'll make an appointment for when we get back, okay?"

"Thanks, Mom. I mean, I know we'll probably wait until we get married, I mean, if we do, but even with the ring, sometimes you forget… like Nate did. And I just want to be covered-"

"What do you mean like Nate did?" Mom question. I wouldn't answer her. "Please tell me not in my house…" Mom sighed.

"No, at his parent's house. With both their parents there. Somehow. Never got _those_ details." I thought back trying to figure it out.

"Well, I guess I'll be making both of you an appointment then." Mom decided. I bit my lip and nodded. "Okay, off to bed. Who knows how you've been sleeping."

I stood up and headed into the living to get Shane. After we changed, I remembered I didn't say goodnight to my parents and headed back downstairs. I stopped outside of the kitchen and heard my parents talking.

"I know, she's growing up pretty fast, huh?' Dad asked.

"No, Steve. She's _grown_. She still has some life lessons to learn, but… look at her. Just getting on a plane at 17 without telling us? As much I love Shane, I hate him. He's taking my baby away from me." Mom said sniffling.

"She had to grow up sometime, Con." Dad said soothingly. "And besides, he's a good kid. He can take care of her."

"I know." Mom said and I could hear the smile in her voice. "I just wish she'd have taken a little longer to grow up." It was silent for a moment and I was going to make my entrance, when she began speaking again. "I wonder when he'll propose to her?" What? Hold up, Mom said what?

"I don't think he will soon. He hasn't asked for permission. Has he?" Dad suddenly became alarmed.

"No." Mom laughed. "I meant, I wonder when he'll propose as in next year or a few years since she has the promise ring. I don't mean like tomorrow. But they are that serious, Steve. It scares me." Mom admitted.

"She'll be fine." Dad assured her.

"Hey, guys." I said coming in. "I forgot to say goodnight." I smiled brightly. I hugged them each and went back upstairs, feeling different.

"You okay? What took so long?" Shane asked from my bed.

I smiled at him as I pulled off my thermal. I watched his eyes follow my shirt as I answered. "I overheard my parents talking. That's all."

"Everything okay?" He asked as I climbed into my bed.

"Yeah. Just my parents realizing I've grown up. I told Mom some things earlier."

Shane's face paled a little. "What kind of things?"

I smiled and kissed him. "Future things." I assured him and turned out the light. He wrapped his arms around me and we fell asleep. It was an odd feeling, not falling asleep to the movement of the bus or the sound of everyone else around you.

Happy? You got an extra long chapter this time.


	26. Chapter 26

First off, why did so many of you think the story was over? And secondly, Camp Rock is totally taking over the world. Last night my aunt comes over and she's a bet eccentric to begin with, so she's telling us about this thing her coworker showed. She started doing the Whatever Major Loser from CR! I started laughing so hard I fell off the chair going 'Omg that's from Camp Rock!'. Then today I was shopping for my dorm and Target has so much Camp Rock stuff it isn't even funny. Mom maid funny of me and asked if I wanted a CR clock… I told her no, but I kinda did. Lol.

Okay, new chapter. So not over yet. Welcome Back to Camp Rock, peeps. It's a half fluffy chapter, so... and no. They aren't going to any time soon. I'm just trying to show thats how serious they are. Kay? Kay.

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Chapter 26

"_Shane!" I laughed as he bounced in his seat. We were finally back from another tour, and on our way home. He wrapped his arm around me and sighed._

_Leaning in to whisper in my ear, he said, "I can't help it that we haven't had sex in 6 weeks." I laughed and hit his stomach._

"_Well. That's what happens when you tour. You have to deal with your band mates." I said smiling at the others._

"_Next tour, we are so getting our own bus." He said dramatically._

_I took his hand and placed in on my growing stomach. "Babe, next tour we're going to have a dog _and_ a __**baby**__ with us. Of course we're going to have our own bus."_

"_Yeah, I'm not dealing with a baby." Nate said as Caitlyn whacked him. We laughed. "Okay, I'm not good with kids. They scare me."_

"_Nate kids scared you when you were a kid." Shane teased._

I shot up in bed, gasping. Shane woke up and looked up at me. "What's wrong, baby?" He asked reach out for my hand. I sucked in a large breath at the word. I knew he was calling baby, and not saying baby, but still.

I laid back down to face him, still minutely freaked out. "Weird dream." I said softly.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked yawning. I could see he was waking up, and seeing as I was already wide awake, I decided to.

"Do you think about the future?" I asked, vaguely aware of the fact that we were having this conversation while in bed, _again_.

He laughed, "We've had this conversation before. Yes, I do. Why?"

"Weird dream, remember?" He nodded and gave me a look to explain. "We were on our way home from the latest tour… and you were complaining… that we haven't had sex in 6 weeks and said next tour we were so getting our own bus… and… I… put your hand… on my stomach…"

"Why?" He prompted me as I stopped speaking.

"Because… I was… pregnant… and I said next tour we'd have a dog and a baby with us…" I explained slowly.

"Uh huh. And this has you freaked out?" He asked. I nodded not looking at him. "Because you think you're thinking about things you shouldn't?" I nodded again. "Because we're only dating and you think that your thoughts are moving too fast?" I began nodding again when he cupped my chin, preventing me from doing so. "Mitchie, relax. I have every intention of marrying you someday. It's okay. You can think about stuff like that. Although dream me brings up a good point. If we're married, we are so having our own bus or stopping at hotels more often." I giggled hitting his chest.

"You really plan on marrying me?" I asked.

He nodded and took my left hand in his. "Do you see this? It's a promise ring. It means that someday in the future I'm going to ask you to marry me, and you are going to say yes."

"So my dream doesn't freak you out?" He shook his head no. "I guess I was thinking about it because of what Mom said…"

"What did Connie say?" He asked.

"She was pondering out loud to Dad and asked when you were going to propose to me…" He smiled mischievously at me. "What?"

"I already know that." He simply.

"Really?"

He nodded. "And, no, I'm not telling you. But feel free to pick out an engagement ring." He said quite seriously.

"Shane…" I said warningly, letting him know not to play.

"I'm serious." He replied, smiling at me. "But we are going to move on, and I'm going to force you to imagine our future."

"Why?" I laughed.

"Because you keep doubting yourself when you do." He replied. "Now, personally. I see us having quite a few kids… I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off of you once we're married."

"That's what birth control is for." I said, edging into that subject.

"Or not. There's a plus to waiting until your married. No need for birth control." He said completely serious.

"I could go on the pill." I shrugged and he smiled at me.

"If you want. But I wouldn't mind having a lot of kids." He answered honestly.

"Okay, let's question how many are 'a lot'?"

"7, 8, 9... No, I'm totally kidding." I think I stopped breathing for a moment. I smacked him. "Seriously, 4, 5? I mean, who knows we could end up with 12... But yeah."

I laughed. "You realize the more kids we have the more of a chance there is for us to have a curly haired baby?"

He shrugged. "Oh well. I'll have teach them the ways of a straightener at 6."

"You will not." I laughed. "When they hit puberty you can teach them."

He agreed, laughing. "Okay, so lots of kids. I'm thinking once the oldest is in school we'll settle down, buy a real house. Maybe in New York or Connecticut. Between the Torreses and the Grays. Probably New York, so we're close to Nate in PA, too."

I cuddled against his chest and told him to keep going, letting him lull me back to sleep. He dropped his voice to a whisper and spoke gently in my ear. "It'll be big. And have at least three working showers. One for us, one for the girls, and one for the boys. Though, growing up sharing a bathroom with a sister is a plus when you start dating. We'll figure that out when they get older. Back to the beginning. I'm thinking we'll name them after people who are important to us. Me, of course-" I laughed at him softly. "Justin. Benjamin-"

"Whose Benjamin?" I whispered sleepily.

He laughed softly, "Uncle Brown's real name." I nodded as he kept going. "There aren't too many girls, so we'll just come up with names we like, and use the girls' names as middle names. Jason and Nate, too. Personally, I like Hailey… Oh and we'll need a Spanish name or two, as well. Selena is pretty. How about Rosalina? I also like…" Shane's voice faded out as I fell asleep.

Shane didn't mention anything the next morning. We just accepted the conversation and moved on. I smiled thinking about all the names he'd come up with for our children. It was weird to say that without it feeling weird. That made no sense, but it does.

We hung out with Dad a lot in the next few days. I spent time with Sierra, too. She was happy to hear Nicole and I made up. 2 days later we were loading up the van to meet the bus on our way to Camp Rock. We still had a lot of stuff on the bus and we had to help clean up and pack.

As soon as we found the truck stop they were at, Mom parked the van next to the bus. I ran over to it, anxious to see my puppy. He barked from the passenger's seat window as he saw me. I opened the door and picked him, holding him to my chest. Shane came over a minute later and petted him. He had this weird look in his eye as he watched me cuddle with our dog.

"Okay, give me my favorite puppy and go do whatever it was you need to do." Mom said catching up. We went on the bus and everyone greeted us with hugs and 'are you okay's . We gave Jacob to Mom and headed into the back. I pulled Caitlyn aside, speaking quickly and quietly.

"Okay, so I may have told Mom I wanted to go on the pill and I may have told her I want to have sex with Shane, and I may have told her you and Nate slept together in PA, and she may be making us appointments to see a gynacologist, and I may have had a really weird conversation with Shane about our future, and he may have indirectly proposed to me."

"What?" Caitlyn hissed pulling me into the small bathroom and locking the door.

"I may have-"

"I heard everything you said. We'll start from the top. Seriously? Since when?" She asked.

"I've just been thinking about it lately. I mean, Mom asked me what really happened because I asked if Shane could sleep in our room, which they actually let him…. I was surprise because- Okay, off topic. I don't know. She asked if there was anything else, and I knew she was waiting for me to directly say, 'No, Mon, we didn't have sex or do anything sexual.' and, I don't know. I thought about it. He's really set on not having kids until we're married, which is great, I agree. And I just don't want something to happen if we lose control. And I mean, we'll probably wait until we're married, but I don't know if I'm going to be the one stopping us."

"Makes sense." She nodded. "How did Nate and I get brought up?"

I winced. "Mom mentioned the purity rings and I said sometimes you just forget like Nate…"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Is that why I'm going to gynacologist?" I nodded. "Okay, really weird conversation with Shane?"

"I had a dream about me being pregnant and him complaining about not getting any because we'd been on tour… and I woke up and he did, too, so I told him. And then he started talking about living in New York and naming our kids…. And told me I could pick out my engagement ring if I wanted because he has every intention of marrying me someday."

"Wow." Was all Caitlyn could say. I looked around nervously and realized we were in the bathroom having this conversation. "What?" She asked as I started laughing.

"We're in the bathroom having this conversation." I giggled. She started laughing, too, and we exited the bathroom. Jason and Nate looked at us weird. "What?"

"Nothing." They both said quickly going back to what they were doing.

Anastasia, however, decided to fill us in. "We all just heard your entire conversation."

I paled. "Seriously?" She nodded. "All?" I squeaked. She nodded toward Shane who wasn't saying anything. I winced.

"Hey." I said standing in front of him.

"Hey." He said distractedly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What? Nothing. Nothing's wrong." He said moving away from me. "Come on, we have to pack." I let it go and started packing up all of my stuff that I had spread through out the bus.

Even later that night, Shane still seemed bothered by something, but wouldn't tell me. Mom checked into the hotel at the truck stop for the night, but we all opted to sleep on the bus. It would be our last night sleeping together as a group. Weird as it sounds, it's a feeling you come to enjoy, and miss when it's gone.

Tomorrow we would be at Camp Rock, and we'd all be in different places at different times. Donnie convinced Mom to hook up the van to the back of the bus and tow it so she could relax on the bus.

We all woke up and opted to just eat the last bit of cereal we had on the bus instead of stopping and getting breakfast. Caitlyn and I were sitting on the floor eating while Anastasia was next to us on the couch. The guys were all at the table eating.

"Something is bothering him and I don't know what." I said staring at the back of my boyfriend's head, whispering to the girls.

Anastasia shrugged. I had thought she'd be upset I didn't tell her when I told Caitlyn, but she wasn't. She just pulled me aside later and asked for details on everything she'd heard mentioned. "Maybe something you were talking about got to him."

"Maybe he's upset you were freaking out about the future thing." Caitlyn suggested. "He hates when you freak."

"He would have called me on it or gotten upset with me. No, he just looks really deep in thought." I said, still unsure.

"Nate!" Caitlyn called him over to her. He followed his beckoning and sat next to her. She whispered in his ear and he shrugged.

"Don't know." He said, kissing her cheek and going back to the table. She shrugged at me, letting me know he didn't know what Shane's problem was either.

"Don't worry too much. We have like 20 minutes until we get to Camp Rock." Anastasia said looking at her watch. "Oh my god!" She said. She put her bowl in the sink and ran in the back. Realizing we were all in our pajamas still, we started rushing around as well. Thankfully, none of us were really shy around each other anymore, and everyone took turns changing their undergarments in the bathroom and then got dressed in the back. After one particular day without Rich on the bus, we'd all learned how to change in the same room without looking at each other or getting freaked out. We'd all over slept and had to be dressed and ready to go in 10 minutes. They guys didn't have clean boxers, the girls all had the same bras on, and in some cases the girls ended up going commando, changing in the bathroom really quickly.

Mom gave me a questioning look as we all began to make our way out of the back dressed. I smiled innocently. "Are you guys excited?" She asked turning around in the passenger's seat. We all nodded. "Stas, you'll be helping me in the kitchen I understand."

"Yes. Unlike these clowns," she gestured to all of us. "I can cook."

"Hey, we can cook." I defended Caitlyn and myself. "_They_ can't cook." I gestured toward Shane and Nate. The boys blushed but agreed nonetheless.

"Hopefully, this summer will be less _dramatic_." Mom said carefully giving me a look. I looked away making a face.

"Yeah. Less _dramatic_." I agreed.

When the bus finally pulled up to the Camp, the main Camp Rock bus had already gotten there. Caitlyn and I ran off the bus almost as soon as it stopped. We ran over to Barron and Sanders who where entertaining a group of girls.

"Barry!" I yelled.

"Sanders!" Caitlyn laughed after me. They smiled widely at us and ran over to hug us.

"Caitlyn, Mitchie?" Lola asked from behind us. We turned around and gave her a huge hug. She laughed slightly. "Wow, last year you were outcasts, this year you rolled up in style."

We _may_ have not thought that out too well. We showed up at _Camp Rock_ in Connect 3's tour bus, with Connect 3. Anyone who didn't know, well, they just figured it out.

"Yeah, well." Caitlyn shrugged.

"Wow, living together has you becoming the same person." Sanders teased pointing to our bracelets.

"Oh, these were a gift from Jason. That reminds me, you think he'll get Stas one?" Caitlyn shrugged in reply to my question.

"Shane's not gonna kill me if I say you look particularly good this year, is he?" Barron asked looking me over. I laughed and shook my head no.

"Speaking of, they're talking to Peggy and Ella. We'll catch up with you guys later." Caitlyn said as we headed back to the guys.

"Peggy!" I cried hugging her. She hugged me back while Caitlyn and Ella hugged.

"Mitchie!" Ella cried hugging me. "I _cannot_ believe you were on _tour_ with Connect 3! How did that happen? Cause your mom _isn't_ famous, right?"

"Ella, Shane and I go out…" I said slowly, knowing she didn't mean that as it sounded.

"You do?" She asked. I shook my head at her. Sometimes she was a little too air headed. "Oh well. I wanna hear all about the tour."

"I want to hear why Peggy wasn't with us, personally." Caitlyn said looking over at the girl in question.

"I was actually touring with my Dad and had the lead in one of the plays we were performing."

"Wow. That's awesome." I said. Mom came over a minute later holding Jacob.

"Mitchie, Shane, your dog wants you." She said as Jacob whined in her arms trying to get down. Shane took him and held him while the girls began to awe and pet him.

"I can't believe you have your dog with you." Tess sneered from the side of us. I turned to face her, a little confused.

"Why is that?" I asked in a bored tone. "And _I_ don't. He's here with Shane. He's going to stay in Shane's cabin with Nate and Jason."

"Everyone knows that Shane got him for you, so you didn't need to bring him to show off."

"Or maybe I wanted to have my dog with me, Tess." Shane challenged. She scoffed and walked off. I noticed two new girls following behind her.

"Some things never change." Peggy commented. "I really hoped things would be different this year."

"They are." Nate said throwing his arm around her shoulder. "This year, all of Connect 3 is here, there will be no drama over lies, and hey, you're friends with Connect 3 and not in Tess' shadow anymore."

Peggy smiled gratefully. "You're right." She smiled at Caitlyn. "You're lucky Cait."

"Tell me that when you live with him on a bus for 2 months." She said playfully. Nate dropped his arm and walked over to Caitlyn, pouting.

Placing his hands on her hips he looked down on at her. "You didn't like living with me for 2 months?"

"Nope." She said in all seriousness. "I loved it." Nate smiled and leaned down to kiss her. They got caught up in the kiss until someone cleared their throat.

"Uncle Brown! I mean, Brown." I said happily going to hug him. Having had him referred to as Uncle Brown for so long, it was weird to not call him Uncle.

"Uncle Brown is just fine for you." He said in his adorable accent. "You're close enough to being my niece as it is." He laughed. "And I believe you are the reason I still have my camp." I blushed. The others looked at me in confusion. "Camp Rock was going to be cancelled but Mitchie came up with the idea to talk to Lava Records, who bought Camp Rock from me. And now it's better than ever and the kids have more of an opportunity to go somewhere."

"Awesome, Mitchie. You're like, the Camp Rock savoir or something." Ella said hugging me.

"Shane helped." I said still blushing. Shane shook his head. "Yes, you did."

"It was still your idea. I just followed through on it." The girls looked at each other and awed.

"Now. I see Nate and Caitlyn. I do not see Jason and this new girlfriend of his."

"I think Jason and Stas went over to the kitchen to help my mom." I explained. Brown nodded and said good-bye, heading off.

Peggy smiled, "Wow, Mitchie, you've been busy this year, haven't you." I smiled a half smile, knowing it was true.

"Oh, look, Dee's getting ready to go up." Caitlyn said pointing to the overly excited woman.

"We're gonna go settle in and talk to Brown and stuff, okay?" Nate said. Caitlyn nodded and kissed him.

I kissed Shane as he was getting ready to leave. "Meet me by the canoes later?" I asked against his lips. He nodded and headed off behind Nate.

"You realize once Dee greets us, Camp officially starts, and you can't do that?" Peggy reminded us. I nodded as did Caitlyn. We both were pouting a bit.

"But it's better to at least have them here then for them to be on tour away from us." I said. Peggy nodded in understanding.

Camp Rock would be interesting this year.

And by the way... 815+ reviews? OMJ... and yeah, I said it. O.M.J. You've offically corrupted me.


	27. Chapter 27

Okay, I'm getting mix signals here, and I don't know what to think. One review raves about how much they love my story and how they love that is so long, and the next is almost complaining. I can't figure out if the majority of you are enjoying this or not. And, I'm still going to write a sequel, but this isn't over yet. I'm just really confused and self conscious about this now. :(

So, Day 1 and there's already drama. No, no one is breaking up for good, or breaking up I think…

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Chapter 27

After Dee welcomed us and explained the changes to those of us who'd been there before, Caitlyn and I made our way over to the cabins.

"This is going to be so weird." Caitlyn laughed. "I think I might be compelled to put two of the beds together."

"Yeah, sleeping at home was definitely different. It's going to suck not being able to sleep with the guys." I whined a little.

"I don't know." Caitlyn shrugged. "I think we all need a break. Especially me and Nate."

I wasn't expecting that and dropped the clothes I was unpacking. "What?"

"Aren't you getting a little sick of Shane? Honestly, after 2 months of nonstop togetherness. I love him, I do, but I just feel like we need the time apart."

"That's true." I said. I hadn't really thought about that. "I guess we could all use some space. I'm just not sick of him yet."

"You will be." Caitlyn said sagely. "I'd hate for you two to get to that point."

"Are you regretting going on tour?" I asked.

She shrugged and wouldn't look at me. "I don't know. I guess, don't hate me okay? I just, sometimes I get jealous of you and Shane." She admitted. "You have like the most insane relationship I've ever seen. You haven't even been together a year and he's like, dead set on marrying you. Nate and I aren't like that. I don't have the story book romance you do. I have the romance novel where we fight constantly and I'm too weak to call him on his bullshit."

I sighed. "That's not true, Cait. Shane and I have our problems." She looked at me skeptically. I sat on the bed next to her. "We do. Like… he scares me sometimes. With all of his future stuff. I have a hard time imagining the future after Justin. I want to believe everything he tells me and I love hearing him talk about how we're going to live in New York to be equidistant to everyone. But, I'm afraid it's all going to bottom out. He's going to realize he's taking this too fast and that he regrets it." I admitted.

"Really?" Caitlyn asked. "You guys seem so perfect."

I shook my head. "We're not. I freak out and he gets mad. I can't help it. I just don't know how to tell him certain things. And he's such a drama queen at times. But I love him. And that's the important part." I turned to her. "You and Nate have a lot of problems, too, but we don't see them. Name one problem you see between Shane and I, realistically and not because I've complained about it."

"Nothing." She shrugged.

"Exactly." I said. "I don't see any problems between you and Nate, but there are problems behind close doors that I know of."

"I think this is all because we had sex." Caitlyn said looking at her feet.

"Again?!" I cried.

"No!" She laughed. "No, only that one time. You and Shane have this amazing emotional connection. Nate and I have this amazing physical connection. It's like, he touches my hand and my whole body is on fire. I can never get enough of him when we kiss. I get antsy if I'm not touching him in someway or he's not near me. But, sometimes I feel like that's all it is."

"Oh Cait." I said wrapping arms around her in a hug. "I'm sure it's not."

"I don't know. When are you meeting Shane down at the dock?" She asked changing the subject.

I shrugged. "I just said later. He could be there now for all I know. I just want to spend some time with him before we can't."

"See what I mean, you're inseparable." I frowned though she was laughing, obviously kidding around. Maybe things were too perfect.

"Walk with me?" I asked getting up. She nodded and we left.

As we walked, I enjoyed the refreshing nature of it all. The cooler air was a nice contrast to the normally blazing summers. I loved it up here. I saw Shane sitting by the dock writing like he did the entire summer before. Nate was sitting with him making comments to what was being written every now and then.

"Working on a new song?" I asked, making our presence known. I saw Shane look up with a half smile and Nate smile widely at us. He got up to kiss Caitlyn's cheek while I sat next to Shane, kissing his. Nate nodded to Shane and pulled Caitlyn away, no one but me noticing the look on her face.

I wondered for a brief moment if she could see the way his eyes lit up when he saw her. There was definitely a spark in his eyes that only ever showed when Caitlyn was around. I sighed. "Do you think they have any idea what they're doing to each other?" I looked over at Shane, only to see him busy working on his new song.

"What?" He asked not even looking up. I sighed.

"Caitlyn thinks that her Nate are just physical. But she can't see the way his eyes light up when they see her. And he has no idea that she doesn't see how much he loves her. He's so… Nate like… that he can't tell."

"So? It's their relationship, let them handle it." He shrugged not even thinking about it.

"What's bothering you?" I asked running my hand through his hair.

"Nothing." He said moving away from me slightly.

"Are you sure? It seems like there is something bothering you since Caitlyn and I were talking in the bathroom."

"No, Mitch. Nothing is bothering me." He said dismissing it again.

I decided to let it go. There was no use in arguing over this. "What are you working on?"

"A song."

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously." I replied sarcastically.

Distractedly again, he asked, "What?"

"You know what, when you decide to stop ignoring me, come find me." I stormed off. I didn't look back, but I heard a sigh. I forced myself to keep going. He was being such a jerk for no reason.

I found a confused looking Nate sitting on the steps to my cabin. "What's wrong, Nate?" I asked sitting next to him, pushing my stupid boyfriend to the back of my mind.

"Is something bothering her?" He asked. Not waiting for a reply, he kept going. "She just… she wouldn't let me hold her hand when we came back, and then I tried to kiss and she let me kiss her cheek and said she was tired. Since we've gotten off the bus she's been… distant."

"Nate…" I sighed, taking his hand in mine. "I can't betray her trust, you know that." He nodded. "But, just give her some time and make sure she knows you love her." I stood up to head in to the cabin. I was going to drag her to dinner.

I heard Nate ask behind me, "She knows I do, doesn't she?" The only answer he got was the closing of the door behind me. I watched him walk away from the cabin, back in the direction I had come from.

"Guys suck." I said flopping on top of Caitlyn's bed, and thus Caitlyn.

"Ow. I know. Why?" She sat up. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't know. He still has that stick shoved up his butt, that's for sure." Caitlyn pulled her legs out from under me and stood up. "Dinner?' I asked.

"Dinner." She agreed.

Caitlyn and I sat at a table with Barron, Sanders, and Lola. Peggy and Ella joined us as well. We were laughing and eating, just having fun. Shane and Nate were at a table with Jason and Brown.

"Tell me it isn't always this _exciting_?" Anastasia asked dropping into a seat next to Sanders.

"Just wait, after Dinner, there's an open mic night." I laughed.

"And who are you, beautiful?" Barron asked leaning over Lola and Sanders.

Anastasia laughed, "Stas. Jason's girlfriend." She nodded in the direction of the boys. "Which brings me to my second question. Why are we here and them… there?"

"Cait is avoiding her boyfriend and mine is avoiding me?" I said shrugging.

Anastasia shook her head. "No. Because they both keep looking over here. I've been watching it for the last 10 minutes at least from the kitchen. Connie sent me to investigate."

"You're working in the kitchen?" Ella asked.

She nodded, "Yup. This way I could hang out with my favorite people. Jacob and Jason." Caitlyn and I gaped at her. "No, I love you guys, too."

"Cool." Ella said.

"Well, since you won't tell me the problem, I'm going to talk to Jason and see if the boys will."

"Let me know if you find out?" I asked completely serious. She looked at me weird. There was never a time that Shane and I didn't know what the other's problem was for more than a few hours. This had been almost two full days.

"Yeah, um, sure." She nodded and headed over to the boys.

"So, you and Shane are really fighting?" Peggy asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Something is bothering him and he won't tell me. And it's getting me mad."

"I'm sorry." Peggy said.

Desperate to change the subject, I asked, "So who is performing tonight?"

"I am, of course." Lola said.

Peggy and Ella looked at each other. "We are."

"I heard Tess and her new lemmings are. I overheard them practicing." Caitlyn said. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, they look more lemming-y then Peggy and Ella did." I decided.

"Hey, you were a lemming, too." Peggy reminded me.

"Shh." I giggled placing my finger to my lips.

"Are you performing, Mitchie?' Ella asked.

I shook my head no. "No. I don't think I'm going to at all this year."

"Then why come?" Lola asked.

I smiled. "I love it here. It's all about the music. I mean, there's the drama, but that helps you face the real world of this business. Besides, I'd never see you guys again. And I still need work."

"Yeah, you're a little croaky in the shower." Anastasia teased sitting back down. "So, scoop from Jason, so don't entirely believe it. He's been in zombie mode since they overheard your conversation. Like from the beginning. So I'm gonna say it was the first half."

"Why? I don't get it." I said looking slightly annoyed. "What is his problem? Seriously? Whatever, I'm not letting him ruin my summer because he won't tell me what's wrong." Anastasia and Caitlyn looked at me helplessly, trying to think of some way to fix what was only able to be fixed by the stupid boy across the room who kept looking at me. "I'm going to see if my mom needs any help." Before anyone could reply I got up and left the table.

I could feel his eyes follow me as I entered the kitchen, but refused to look at him. "Hey, Mom." I said pushing the door open.

"Hey, you don't have kitchen duty this year. Why are you in here?" She asked looking at me curiously.

"Can't come talk to my mother." Mom laughed. "Okay, I may be hiding."

"Sweetie, why?" She asked putting the rag she was cleaning with down.

"Something's bothering Shane and he won't tell me what. It's starting to get to me." She didn't say anything, she just hugged me. I pulled back. "Did anyone feed Jake?" I asked moving toward the back door.

"I don't know. He's in Shane's cabin probably crying from being all alone. We really should have left him with your father." Mom said sagely.

I shrugged. "Oh well." I smiled, heading out of the door. "I'll be back later."

I headed to Shane's cabin, hoping he wasn't there. I didn't want to see him. I was slowly growing more and more upset with him. Why couldn't he just tell me. I tell him when he asks. I don't volunteer the information, but when he asks, I tell him. By the time I got to his cabin, I was immensely angry at him.

I saw that Jacob's bowl was by the door, and that there was no evidence of a recent feeding. I padded into Shane's room looking for the bag of food. I heard voices coming, but didn't think anything of it. I'd left the door open behind me, though, and the voices suddenly stopped when they were right in front of the cabin.

"Hello?" Shane called into the cabin nervously.

"I was just feeding Jacob." I said walking out to where he could see me. He dropped his guard mostly, but he wasn't exactly welcoming to me. I noticed Nate and Jason's retreating backs outside. I started muttering under my breath as I placed Jacob's bowl on the floor.

I went to leave and Shane grabbed my wrist. "Mitchie." He sighed.

"Oh, now you want to talk to me?" I asked sarcastically.

"I was in a weird mood, _sorry_." He said back equally sarcastic.

"A weird mood? What _is_ that? Oh, sorry, yeah, I was just in a _weird_ mood? What does that mean to me?" I asked.

"It means I was just in a mood. Damn." He said looking at me irritably. "You have them all the time."

"Of course, it's okay for you to do what I do when it suites you right?" I said getting ready to leave.

"What?" He asked confused and mad.

"When you ask me what's wrong, I tell you."

He threw his hands in the air. "Is this seriously about that? And you don't. I have to drag it out of you half the time."

"Yes!" I yelled at him. "You get mad when I freak out about things, but when you're obviously freaked by something, you won't tell me!"

"I don't get mad!" He yelled back.

"Yes you do! You get mad if I don't tell you. And that's why I'm mad, because you aren't telling me!"

"Because you'll flip out! And did you stop to think I wasn't telling you for a reason?"

I yelled out in frustration. "I'm not made of glass. I won't break if you tell me! Or is that what this is about? You're afraid to tell me anything that might upset because of what I told you?" I was hurt that he would treat me like that.

He sighed, no longer yelling, "No, Mitch- I just-" When he stopped, searching for words I provided him some.

"No, Shane, you are. This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I can't believe you." I started leaving.

"Mitchie, do you want to know what's bothering me?" He yelled after me.

I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "It doesn't matter at this point." I said before walking away again. I heard something crack and Jacob bark worriedly, but I didn't care. I refused to go back.

When Caitlyn, Anastasia, and Lola got back to the room, Caitlyn seemed happier. I however was sitting on the floor glaring at the poster of Connect 3 on our wall. "What happened now?" Caitlyn said sitting on the floor next to me. Anastasia sat on the other side, while Lola sat on the bed across from me.

"He's a jerk. I knew it wasn't our conversation. I can't believe he would do that!" I said heatedly.

"Do what?" Caitlyn asked gently.

"Treat me differently! After I told him the truth about what happened after Justin… he swore he wouldn't treat me differently. Which is bull and I should have known. He made me take my bracelet off. That should have been enough of a clue. And now he's avoiding me just so he doesn't have to tell me what's wrong? Ugh!" I screamed in frustration.

The girls looked at me sympathetically, but didn't really know what to say, once again. It really didn't matter what they said though. I was hurt and I was angry. Those were not a good combination.

Three updates in one day. Don't know if there will be one in the morning then.


	28. Chapter 28

Wow, guys. I didn't expect to get that kind of response. Thank you. You really made me feel better. And because you did, I sat down and wrote you a new chapter, though it took a bit longer because Mitchie's song turned into a poem, only this time I wrote it out, not just fiddled with it. Anyway, you find out Shane's problem. I didn't address Nate and Caitlyn yet, though. And she was just randomly in a better mood. She was the one who wanted a break, so she's less mopey, okay? Good. Now, on to chapter 28. And I will definitely tell you when this is over. Okay?

* * *

Chapter 28

Thankfully, we had Brown's singing class first the next morning. Breakfast had been pretty awkward when we ran into each other. He'd been walking Jacob, who ran over to me without a thought. He's a dog, he didn't know. I noticed Shane's knuckles were scraped up, but the sadistic part of me thought it served him right for punching whatever he did in his cabin.

As usual, the class was rocking out when Brown showed up. He walked in laughing. "Don't stop on my account." He laughed at all of us as we sat down. "Alright, who wants to sing?" We all raised our hands happily. That was something I loved about Brown, he could always make you forget your problems.

After a few people sang, he made me sing. "Come on, love." He coaxed. "You know I love your voice." I smiled slightly. I heard Tess say something to one of the lemmings. Their names weren't important to me. Brown shot her a look.

"Okay, um…" I paused trying to decided what to sing. Suddenly, the words just flowed. "Tear the bandages back and see, What it is you're doing to me. You're making me bleed from old wounds and I want to keep them closed. Be the guardian I need you to be."

I saw Caitlyn give me an odd look. "Not quite what I was expecting from you, but it was different. I liked it. Did you write it yourself?"

"Uhm, I may have just adlibbed that." I said.

"Awe, trouble in paradise?" Tess snickered.

"At least I'm in paradise, Tess." I replied back smiling tightly as I sat back down next to Caitlyn.

"Okay, what was that?" She whispered to me. I shrugged. "That was not your usual."

"I don't know. I guess just everything with Shane got to me." I replied as more people sang. She didn't really like my answer, but accepted it anyway. I pulled out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled the lyrics I had running through my head down. I may be mad, but if I can get a new song out of it, then so be it.

After lunch wasn't as much fun as Brown's class in the morning. Shane tried to talk to me during lunch, but I walked away from him. He had Jacob, so I knew he couldn't follow me into the kitchen. Mom gave me a look, knowing I was hiding, but I didn't care.

I had Shane's dance class after lunch, and I was not looking forward to it. Thankfully, though, Tess' lemmings weren't in it.

"You guys know the drill. Grab a hat. We're doing partner dancing this year." Shane said walking in late. "And sorry I'm late. I had to walk my dog." The girls awed while I glared a little. He was actually my dog. I mumbled that under my breath and Caitlyn gave me a look. "Okay, so I'm going to make Caitlyn help me show you guys."

"What?" Caitlyn squeaked. I knew about this. It was my idea. Another thing I mumbled.

"Cait, you're the best dance I have. Unless you want me to go get Nate-"

"No, no. That's cool." Caitlyn said practically running up to him.

"Of course he'd pick her." Tess said, though I don't think we were supposed to hear.

"What was that Tess?" Shane questioned, moving closer to her.

She mad a weird face that was supposed to be sad, I think. "I just don't think it's fair that certain people get special privileges. That's all." She sighed for dramatic effect.

"Hmm." Shane pretended to ponder that for a moment, before replying. "Don't you think_ Mitchie_ would be up here if I was playing favorites, Tess?"

"Not if she's mad at you." She replied snidely.

I saw his jaw twitch and knew he was getting upset. "That'd be more of a reason, Tess." I commented. I saw Shane give me a look but I could see him relax a bit. "He'd have an excuse to talk to me."

"Thank you, _Mitchie_." He said sarcastically. "I am not playing favorites." He said loudly to the whole class. "I know Caitlyn can dance. She helped Jason over the summer when we worked in new choreography to the show. Actually, she knows this routine." She blushed. "You want to be up here, prove to me you can dance this routine." He said in a final tone.

The music started and he showed Caitlyn the first move he wanted her to do. She picked up the general rhythm quickly and they did the first piece for us to follow. I ended up working with Andy, not that I cared. He'd really come a long way from our first dance class. Shane and Caitlyn did the whole routine, tossing each other their hats and mics at different points.

After class, Shane grabbed my hand, holding me back. "What the hell was that?" He asked, referring to earlier.

"You were getting mad. You didn't need to flip out at Tess." I explained softly, not looking at him.

"Did you have to say the second half?" He asked and I could tell he was mad.

"Yes, I did. Because they all knew it and it put Tess in her place."

"You just wanted to see me belittled, Mitchie, and don't even try to say otherwise."

"You don't know me, Shane. Stop pretending you do. Because you made it abundantly clear that you don't!" I yelled at him.

"I do know you!" He yelled back. "That's the problem, Mitch!"

I shook my head. "No, Shane, you thought you did, and you realized you didn't, so know you're trying to figure me out all over again. And you're doing a really bad job of it." I pulled my hand away from his and left the cabin quickly. I heard him cursing to himself and felt only slightly guilty for walking away. I was still too angry to care much, though.

I headed back to his cabin to take Jacob for a walk. I didn't think to leave Shane a note letting him know I had the dog and received a panicked phone call.

"What Shane?" I asked bitterly.

"Mitchie? Do you have Jake? He's not in my cabin." He seemed really frantic.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I wanted to spend some time with him."

"Oh." He said quietly. "Um, next time, leave a note or something, please? I got really worried that he got out or something. You know how adventurous he is, he could get lost in the woods real easily." He was genuinely worried and I felt some of my anger ebb away.

I sighed. "I'm going to bring him back in a few."

"Okay."

"Bye." I said softly, about to hang up.

"Love you." He said cautiously.

"I know." I said back and hung up.

A few minutes later I made my way back to Shane's cabin. He was sitting on the steps waiting for me. "Mitchie…" He sighed. "Can we please talk? No yelling or screaming? Just talk?"

I shrugged. "I guess." He stood up to let Jacob into the cabin. I remained standing off of the steps, so he took the leash from my hand. Our hands touched and I shivered slightly. When he sat down again, I remained standing.

"I'm not… I'm not treating you differently." He looked up at me hesitantly. "I wouldn't have told you even before the last week."

My gaze hardened at his admission. "This was a bad idea, Shane." I started walking away, knowing I was too mad still to listen to him clearly.

"No, Mitchie." He grabbed my hand again, stopping me. "You don't understand. I've been protecting you from my problems since day 1. I don't want to burden you with them."

"No, Shane, _you_ don't understand. You tell me you want to marry me but you don't seem to understand something important in a marriage. You need to trust me and I'm supposed to be able to help you deal with your problems. They should be _our_ problems. Not yours. Why is it okay for you to take on mine, but I can't handle yours? I'm not as weak as you seem to think." I said back before turning to walk away again.

This time he stepped in front of me. "Mitchie," He sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I know I was wrong to not tell you what was wrong. I didn't realize it mattered so much."

"Shane, you get so upset when I won't tell you when something is bothering me. How could you possibly think it wasn't a big deal?"

"Because you wouldn't tell me! I didn't think sharing our problems mattered to _you_, so I didn't bother you."

"I can't believe you thought that." I said once again trying to move past him. He grabbed my arms keeping me in place though.

"Baby." He was pleading with me to stay and hear him out. "Please?" I sighed and stopped fighting him, but wouldn't look at him. "When you freak out, I freak out. It gets to me that I upset you. But that's not what my problem was, okay?"

I nodded, "You still haven't told me. That's what this whole thing started over and you haven't told me." I said still mad.

"I know. I freaked out when I heard you telling Caitlyn you wanted to go on the pill…"

I looked up at him confused. "Why? What does that have to do with you, other than the obvious?"

"You didn't tell me." He looked down. "And I wanted to know why. And the whole not knowing if you would be the one stopping us… where did that come from?"

"Why didn't you just ask me?" I demanded.

"Because it was a private conversation with Caitlyn we weren't supposed to hear."

"That didn't stop Stas." I laughed slightly.

He smiled. "That's because Stas loves being tactless. It makes her, her. She doesn't care if she shouldn't ask, she just does."

"I wish you would've just talked to me instead of just ignoring me, Shane. I need to think, okay? This entire time I've been thinking you were getting sick of me…"

"I can't get sick of you." He said softly cupping my face with his hands.

"Shane. Let me go, please." I put my hands on his, trying to coax him into letting me leave.

"No. Never." He whispered thinking I meant more than I did.

"Shane, please. I don't mean for good. I mean for now. Right now. I'm still mad at you. I need to fully forgive you before I can be with you completely, okay? Otherwise I'll resent you. I don't want to resent you."

"How do I know if I let you leave right now you'll come back? You won't change your mind about us? You won't realize we're too different or something? What if you find it's not worth it. Or you find someone else?"

"Shane." I said warningly.

"Just tell me." He demanded softly. I pushed him away with all of my might.

"Damn you, Shane. Why are you so thick headed?" I cried at him. I pulled off his ring and threw it at him. "That was why. I made a promise to you, remember? A promise to be with you forever. Or as long as possible. But damn it, you're making this impossible right now." I ran away from him, tears streaming down my face.

By the time I reached my cabin, the tears had stopped falling because I was hurt and began falling because I was angry. Angry at him and angry at myself. I couldn't believe I threw the ring back at him. But I couldn't believe he doubted me even more.

I skipped dinner that night and had all of my meals in the kitchen with Caitlyn and Anastasia. Shane knew better than to try to talk to me, but that didn't stop him from staring at me all the time. In class, Caitlyn and Lola made a human barrier. I noticed though on the fifth day of not talking to him something hanging around his neck. He did a flip or something, I wasn't really pay attention. I was too busy looking out the window. But a chain fell out from under his shirt. Hanging off the chain was my ring. He noticed me staring at him and followed my eyes. He quickly slipped it back under his shirt but looked me in the eyes to express to me that he was sorry. I was still mad at him though.

"Ugh!" Anastasia came in and sat on the edge of my bed on day 10. She took a deep breath and screamed.

"What the? Stas, you okay?" I asked looking up from the song I was working on.

"If I have to hear one more time: 'I love her, why can't she see that?' or 'I love her, why is this so hard?' or 'I love her and she hates me' _one_ more time, I swear both of you will be boyfriendless!" She yelled in frustration.

"The guys bugging you?" Caitlyn asked from behind her laptop, not bothering to look up.

"You have no idea. If I'm with Nate, it's 'What is Caity's problem, Stas? Mitchie won't tell me and Shane is in his own world. Tell me what I'm doing wrong. I love her, does she not realize that?'" I saw Caitlyn pause but still not look up. "He is going crazy with you ignoring him. And _you_." She turned on me. "If I'm with Shane, it's 'Stas, what am I supposed to do? She thinks I don't trust her, but in reality, I'm just afraid to loose her. I love her so much. I hate not being able to talk to her. I just want her to explain everything to me that I overheard. I need to talk to her and she won't let me. She hates me.'"

I looked down, a bit angry again. "They convinced you to come in here and preach to us? Wow, Stas, thanks for choosing sides." I stood up and headed toward the door.

"I'm not choosing sides, Mitchie." She said, her voice surprisingly hard. "I'm trying to salvage my friendships before I have to. The four of you are miserable. I may not be as close to any of you as you are to each other, but that just means I can see what your doing to one another without even realizing it. Nate and Caitlyn have always leaned on you and Shane when they have problems, and vice versa. You and Shane lean on Nate and Caitlyn. But when all four of you are fighting, who's going to step in and say enough is enough?" Anastasia asked me giving me a hard look. I looked down, thinking.

"I'm going out." I said softly.

"Where?" She and Caitlyn asked.

"I don't know. Where ever my feet take me. I need to think." I left and just began to wander. I eventually came to the canoes at the dock. Shane was there untying one of them. He had Jacob on the leash with him.

"You are not taking our dog on that canoe." I said quickly. "He'll jump out."

"Is he still ours, Mitchie?" He asked, sounding seriously depressed.

"Of course, Shane." I said softly. "Why don't we get in one of these together and talk? That way neither of us can run and we can scream and yell all we want? Just no flailing." He smiled slightly and began pushing the canoe into the water as I picked Jacob up, handing him to Shane. He helped me into the boat and handed Jacob back to me.

After Shane managed to get us to the middle of the lake, he set the oars down. "Tell me why you didn't tell me. You could have told me when you mentioned it in the future tense."

"I don't know. I wanted to see what your reaction was, and I didn't just want to be like 'oh by the way, when we get back from Camp Rock, I'm going on the pill because I don't trust us not to do something stupid.'"

"You don't trust us? You don't think we can control ourselves?" He seemed upset by that.

I sighed. "Shane, I told my mother I wanted to have sex with you." I said quietly, but I knew he heard me. He was silent and when I looked at him, his mouth was opening and closing a few times.

"Like, straight out?" I nodded. "I thought you meant like, you may have indirectly said 'Mom, I want to go on the pill, thus meaning I want to have sex. Most likely with Shane.' Why did you tell her that?"

"Because she asked. I was being honest with her. Shane, I was raised to believe that until I could tell my parents flat out that I wanted to have sex without getting remotely embarrassed, that I shouldn't. I know you believe you're supposed to wait until marriage, but I don't. But I respect that you do. See, the difference is this." I picked up his hand showing him his ring. "This means you promise not to have sex until your married." I lifted my own hand, forgetting that I didn't have my ring, though admittedly my hand felt naked without it. "This means I promise to wait for you. When you're ready I'm ready. If that's right now or that's 30 years from now when we get married, I'm yours and I'll be waiting."

He surprised me and leaned forward, kissing me suddenly. I lost myself in the kiss and was thankful we didn't tip the canoe. I didn't know if Jacob could swim and I didn't want to find out.

When he pulled back, I gasped for breath. "What was that for?" I asked breathless.

"You have no idea what you just did, do you?" He asked pressing his forehead against mine. I looked at him confused. "You held up your hand to show my a ring that isn't there." I blinked and looked down at my hand, suddenly remembering it wasn't. "Then, you basically said your mine to take when I want. The perverted, primal instinct just translated that into you marking yourself as mine for eternity." He let his words sink in for a moment before speaking again. "I just wish you would've told me you were worried about us losing control. And I know that you were freaked out by my indirect proposal, though really that's what this is." He pulled the chain off of his neck and slipped the ring off. "I don't mean to freak you out, sometimes I just get caught up. I forget we need to slow down. Sometimes you need to remind me. You want this back?" He asked holding the ring in his fingers. I nodded, so he took my hand and slipped it back on. "I promise to let you know when something is bothering me and to stop being a spoiled brat about it."

"I promise to let you know when I'm freaked." I said softly.

"So are we good?" I nodded.

"Actually," I paused. "Shane, you know I love you, right?" He nodded. "Okay, I think. I think we need to slow down a bit. Can we take this summer to try to be friends again? I'm not saying we're breaking up or taking a break, even. You can still kiss me all you want. I just, I want to take things slower. No more talking about futures and babies and proposals. And we don't have to be attached at the hip. Like last summer when we would sit by the dock and you would sing to me."

"Deal." He kissed my knuckles.

"Good." I kissed him and whispered against his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He said back. "Want to head back?"

I nodded. "Can we stay by the dock for a while, though?" He nodded.

We spent the rest of the night sitting and talking about nothing important. He sang parts of the new song he was working on, sans guitar. Everything felt right again. More than it had.

Okay, that's it. It's over. No, I'm totally kidding. It's not. Not by a long shot. Promise. And bytheway: 900 reviews! I love you guys.


	29. Chapter 29

So, I can't open iTunes on my computer, so I've been forced to listen to music other ways. That being said, I heard like the perfect song for this story. Rihanna's Hate That I Love You. Especially these recent chapters. Okay, tis a bit short, but its massively Naitlyn focused. Little to no Smitchie action in there.

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Chapter 29

Anastasia was sitting on the porch waiting for me when Shane and I walked back hand in hand. "Good, one down, one to go." She said smiling as she stood up. "Now, please, help!" She said and gestured inside.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, worried.

"The other half of my head ache. No wonder Jason is so clueless, he probably drowned the two of you out too much. Anyway, Caitlyn is in there crying her eyes out because she doesn't know what to do. And Nate is completely clueless as to what he's doing wrong." Anastasia sighed.

"The business like attitude?" Shane asked me. I nodded. "I'll talk to him." He kissed my cheek and began pulling away from me. He took Jacob, but didn't drop my hand until they slipped apart. I was smiling softly at his retreating back.

"Everything back to normal?" Anastasia asked smirking slightly.

I shook my head. "Nope. Better."

She laughed. "Come on, Cait needs you." I nodded and pushed the cabin door open.

"Cait?" I said softly. She was in her bed crying. Lola sat helplessly on the edge. Her eyes lit up when she saw me, and quickly abandoned her seat for me. "Caity." I said sighing, rubbing her back slightly.

"Don't call me that." She hiccupped. "Only he does."

"What happened?" I asked as she rolled over.

"He's an idiot. That's what. I figured you were making up with Shane, so I decided to talk to Nate, since we weren't really fighting. More like I was ignoring him, but then we did fight, because he's an idiot!" She cried.

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to go tell Shane he's stupid or something until you and Nate make up?" I didn't like being happy when she was so miserable.

"No!" She shot up, shouting quickly. "No, don't do that. I'd hate for you to be miserable, too."

"Well, I hate being happy if you aren't." I said sincerely.

"Does that mean you made up?" She asked hopeful.

I nodded. "Got my ring back, too." I held up my hand for a brief moment to show her.

"When _didn't_ you have your ring?" She asked.

"When I threw it at him." She gave me another look of confusion. "Don't worry about it. But, what did you and Nate fight about?"

"I said he doesn't love me, and he said yes he does, and I said no you don't, and he said yes, I do, why can't you see that? Are you that blind or something? I wrote you a song- and I cut him off saying that Shane's whining was the inspiration for it and that once again, something in our relationship got twisted into something good for the band. The single for their next album. Just like Valentine's day, when we took the flowers to the hospital. He managed to twist it into good PR. He got mad at me, I got mad at him. I stormed off, he started yelling at Jason…"

"Oh, sweetie." I wrapped my arms around her. It was true that the lyrics of When You Look Me In The Eyes were started by Shane whining to me, but Nate _wrote_ the song. The chorus was all about Caitlyn. That was why Nate sang most of it. Shane explained it all to me, how could Nate not have explained it to Caitlyn? "He's so clueless." I mumbled as she cried on my shoulder.

A little while later, we heard arguing coming up the path. It was late, and everyone should have been in bed, except for those of us who were up with crying, broken hearted teenage girls. It sounded like Nate and Shane, and even Jason. I listened closely, and sure enough even Jason was yelling.

"Man, you love her. What is the problem here?" Jason asked yelling over Nate and Shane.

"She doesn't believe me, she's not going to believe me, why bother?" Nate asked aggravated.

"Because you love her!" Shane and Jason yelled back.

They stopped yelling as they reached our cabin. "Nate, go. Stop complaining. You need to pull your head out of your ass and realize that there is a girl absolutely miserable in there right now that we all care a great deal about. And it's not Stas and it's not Mitchie. Your _Caity_. I can't believe you never explained the song to her." Shane mumbled, obviously having heard the recap of the argument from Nate.

"Man, she doesn't think you love her because your so… I don't know. I tell Stas I love her all the time. We all know Shane tells Mitchie he loves her every 30 seconds. We almost never hear you tell Caitlyn. Like, before bed and that's it." I laughed slightly hearing Jason talk to Nate.

"She doesn't want to see me." Nate said softly. "She hates me."

Shane sighed. "Take it from me," He said, "She doesn't hate you. She's just mad and hurt. Just go gravel and show her how much you love her."

"Why am I gravelling when I don't know what I did?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter, dude." Jason said. "But it probably has to do with you being a jerk. You're always worried about the band and not the people. We love the people."

"Wrong people, Jase." Shane said. "But he does have a point."

"If this makes things worse, you two can explain it to her." A moment later I heard a knock on the door. It woke Caitlyn up, who thankfully hadn't heard the boys' conversation. I opened the door and smiled slightly at him.

"Good luck." I slipped out of the door and let him in. However, I stayed by the door to listen. Lola and Anastasia came out a moment later.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Caitlyn ask quietly.

"To apologize. Apparently, I've been a jerk." He said as a bed creaked. "Caity, do you really not know how much I love you?"

"No, Nate, I don't. And even if you do, you love the band a whole lot more, which I understand-"

"Caity, I don't love the band more than you. None of us love the band more than any of you." I looked at Shane who was standing behind me. He smiled at me. "I never realized you felt that way." Nate sighed.

"Nate, you twist everything into good business for the band. The day Mitchie had the panic attack- I agreed with Stas."

"Do I? I don't mean to. I guess I've just always been the one looking out for the band when we were 16 and being handed a major record deal. I guess I've never realized there are other things to worry about as you get older."

"Nate, I'm not saying I want to be just like them, but it's frustrating to see Shane so obviously in love with Mitchie, and I barely hear my boyfriend tell me he loves me. I mean, we slept together and he basically proposed. Mitchie has like the dream romance, and I barely have an inkling of romance.

"You don't have to tell me every 30 seconds-" Shane muttered something about that not being true while we all looked at him in disbelief. "But more than something that feels so mandatory. Even Jason and Stas are more romantic than us. He calls her randomly just to tell her he was thinking about her and that he loves her."

"I'm sorry, Caity. I don't know how to fix this." He sounded broken.

"I don't know." She replied.

Shane began mumbling about Nate being an idiot for a moment before he pulled me off the porch and started singing to me. I laughed, but realized what he was doing. He wanted Nate to explain the song. We were so going to get in trouble in the morning when other campers reported us being up this late. After a moment Anastasia gestured for us to come back up.

"You didn't even know that the song was _for_ you?' He asked softly.

"No." She whispered.

"Caity, _I_ wrote it-"

"Because of Shane and Mitchie." She cut him off.

"No, Shane just gave me the words for the verses. I didn't even use his exact words. But what he was feeling was what all of us were feeling. I wrote that for you. The part about paradise and heaven? I said that to you after we…" He sighed. "I wasn't lying when I told you I loved you that night. And when I hold you, I feel like that's where I'm supposed to be for the rest of my life. I wrote that song for you so you would know how much I love you. Yeah, Shane and Jason helped, but it's my song. Shane said so himself."

"You never explained it to me. How was I supposed to know?"

He sighed. "You're right. And I promise to work on that, okay? But, Caity, you have to know how much I love you. At least now."

"You need to be less business like, too, Nate. You ruin everything by being like that."

"I will I promise. You just have to help me." He pleaded. I sighed and leaned back against Shane. He held me tightly.

"It's late, I guess we should head back," Nate said reluctantly.

"Yeah." The bed shifted as they stood up. It wasn't for another few minutes that they came out though. Hmmm. Wonder what they were doing. We didn't even bother to move and make it seem like we weren't listening.

"All better?" Anastasia asked.

"All better." Caitlyn answered.

"We owe you, Stas." I said hugging her. "If it weren't for you, who knows how long we would have been fighting."

"Yeah. And we may know each other better, but Mitchie and I love you just as much." Caitlyn hugged her, too.

"I know. Sometimes you need the outside perspective. Like I said in that first interview. It was nice to see a group of people who care so much about each other. It sucked seeing you all at ends."

"Thanks, Stas." Shane said sincerely.

"Anytime, Dracula." Shane groaned, and everything went back to normal. No, better than normal.

Nate was literally attached to Caitlyn's hip, while Shane and I tried to keep our distance a bit. We still sat together at meals and held hands and stuff, but we weren't together 24-7. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen or with Jason and Anastasia. Of course, we all got in trouble by Brown who smiled while yelling at us for being up so late. He didn't really do anything to Anastasia, Jason, Nate or Shane, because they're employees and don't have to adhere to the curfew. Caitlyn and I however, received office duty. Brown knew we'd enjoy kitchen duty too much.

"I'm so excited. Finally, production class." Caitlyn said as we hung up fliers for Beach Jam. So far, I hadn't performed, and I didn't want to. Lola and Caitlyn were trying to convince me to, but I didn't want to get anyone mad at me, since I _did_ sing a duet with Shane.

"Yeah, though it kinda sucks that we have classes for like 3 weeks and then we switch." I replied.

"You just want to be near Shane and not be going against your whole 'slower' plan." Caitlyn teased. I didn't reply so she began laughing at me.

After a few minutes of silence, I went back to the original subject, "Yeah, well let's how well Jason and Nate are able to teach."

"I can't believe Jason is teaching." Caitlyn smiled at the thought.

"Yeah, well. There's a reason Nate is there with him." I laughed.

"Come on, we're done." Caitlyn said hanging the last flyer.

The next day we started our new classes. Shane walked me there, since his class' cabin was next door. I smiled since we had Nate and Jason's class first.

"Mitchie!" Jason laughed hugging me. I was early to class, as was Caitlyn. Caitlyn, however, was in the corner with Nate talking quietly, smiling. I smiled as Nate laughed and kissed her forehead.

As the rest of the class started coming in, they quickly separated. Caitlyn sat in the back, as did I. We didn't need Nate getting distracted too much.

"Okay, so we're going to be teaching you how to write songs. How to work on the melodies and the lyrics together."

"Should we like, introduce ourselves first?" Jason asked.

"They all know who we are, Jase." Nate sighed.

"Wow, that was arrogant." Jason replied.

"Okay, who _doesn't_ know who we are?" Nate asked. Caitlyn and I raised our hands.

"Ha! See, Caitlyn and Mitchie don't know who we are. Wait, what?' Jason looked at us confused.

"Thanks guys." Nate glared at us a bit. "Okay, _fine_, Jason. I'm Nate, he's Jason. Moving on."

"That was rude." Jason said.

Nate sighed and was about to reply when Caitlyn spoke. "Nate, class?"

"Okay, so, who writes songs already?" About half of us raised our hands. Tess raised her hand. I saw Nate smirk.

"What instrument do you use to write the music?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't. I just write the lyrics. My producer makes the music."

"Here is something really important to learn: if you don't write the basic music, the song isn't yours."

"What does a producer do then?" I asked smiling at Caitlyn.

"The producer takes your song and enhances it. But if they write all the music, your voice is just another instrument to them and all you own are the words." Nate said smiling.

"We write all of our music with guitars." Jason said pulling out his. "And by the way, just because you rock at Guitar Hero does _not_ mean you are any good on a guitar." He said pouting slightly.

"He's still a little sore that his girlfriend beats him at Guitar Hero and yet can't figure out how to play a chord on the real thing." Nate teased. "Okay, who can play an instrument?"

Class went on with Nate and Jason bickering a lot and minor teaching being done. Caitlyn was practically bouncing in her seat during lunch. She couldn't wait for production class.

"We haven't seen Milo in so long." I said thinking about class. "We haven't seen him around here."

"He's working on a new project. He kind of lives in studio." Shane explained.

"I can't wait to learn everything." Caitlyn said excitedly.

"Cait, you spent 6 months working with Milo on the album. What else do you need to learn?" Anastasia asked.

Caitlyn stopped bouncing and pouted. "Awe, you ruined her fun, Stas." Jason said. "Don't worry, Cait. Even if you do know everything, that just means you get to show off." Caitlyn smiled at Jason.

That ended up being true. After huge hugs from Milo, he insisted that Caitlyn help him teach as a Teacher's Assistant or something like that. She helped the other kids working on their stuff.

"Why is she getting so much attention?" One of the lemmings asked rolling their eyes.

"Because she's good." I turned around and answered. "She worked on Connect 3's album with Milo. He knows she knows what she's doing."

"Wow, Mitchie, you two seem to know everyone, don't you?" Tess replied sarcastically.

"Actually, we do, just about." I shrugged turning back around.

"Yeah, on the production end. How many _stars_ do you know?" She asked.

"Hmm." I thought for a moment. "Well, aside from being best friends with Connect 3... I know Riley McIntire personally, Melanie Mavis the Broadway star… Cait, who else do we know?" I asked turning to look at her.

"Um, those Disney people… the ones from that musical thing. They came to the show in LA." She said distractedly.

"Wait, you met like Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens?" Lemming number 1 asked.

"Oh, like Corbin Bleu and Ashley Tisdale and Lucas-" Lemming number 2 started asking.

"Yes." I cut her off. "They came back stage to meet the guys." I said smiling as Tess sank back in her seat. "We don't like to brag, though. They're people, same as you and me."

"I don't believe you. You lied to the whole camp last year, who's to say you and Caitlyn aren't lying now?" Tess was never one to give up.

I smiled at Tess. "Because I don't fell like impressing you. You aren't worth lying to anymore." I shrugged and turned around again. I heard the lemmings attempting not to laugh.

I shared a smile with Caitlyn. Despite it's rocky start, this summer was definitely going to be a good one.

Bree is an idiot. Yes, she is. She wrote the new chapter almost 2 hours ago, wrote the an and saved it. Opened ff . net got distracted and never uploaded the chapter and then proceeded to pout that no one reviewed to the new chapter yet, 2 hours later when i always have at least 1 within a half hour. I just don't know what to do with me sometimes...


	30. Chapter 30

Hello, hello. So, I really can't wait to write the other two -but if I do, then I won't finish this- so I wrote a teaser for each, Caitlyn's POV and the sequel. Some how they're both a bit… sexual? Uhm, those are in my profile. Enjoy. And take special notice to the names of each, cause it's a bit weird. Bare with me, okay? Good. Now, enjoy the fluff, the minor smut, and the anniversaryness. And yes, Bree is rather silly sometimes. Lol.

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Chapter 30:

"Who wants to go swimming?" Jason asked hyper active as always. Nate and Shane shared a look, before nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

Anastasia jumped up and down. "Yay, now those new bikinis we bought won't go to waste. Come on." She dragged Caitlyn and I behind her as Shane and Nate called out after us.

"New bikinis?"

"When did they buy new bikinis?" Nate asked desperately.

"Who let them go shopping?" Shane asked as we continued to laugh our way away from them.

It had been a little over two weeks since we'd all made up. There were only two weeks left of Camp Rock and things were going perfectly. After I put Tess in her place, she decided not to speak to Caitlyn or I anymore. Because I wasn't performing this year, she didn't feel the need to intimidate me or get me into anymore trouble. Of course that didn't stop her from hitting on my boyfriend. I didn't let it bother me though. I knew he hated her.

"You realize they're probably running back to their cabin to change?" Caitlyn laughed pulling the shades closed. Anastasia shrugged.

"Most likely." I agreed. "I just hope they aren't disappointed with the real things after all the images they're thinking up."

I pulled on the light green and blue plaid bottoms, as Anastasia spoke over her shoulder. All of our backs were to one another.

"Well, they won't be." She assured us. "Caitlyn has like one the tiniest waist I've seen. And you've got a nice hourglass." She threw her shirt behind her, hitting me with it. I laughed pulling on my shorts. On the way over we'd agreed to wear our tops and shorts back, just to annoy the boys.

"Someone tie me?" I asked holding my top to my chest. Caitlyn did and turned so I could do the same. Her suit was white with purple graffiti all over it.

"Amateurs." Anastasia teased, tying her own top, which was a solid bright red with a cute design on the one triangle. "Come on. I wanna see the boys' faces."

We slipped on flip flops and headed back to the lake. Sure enough, the guys were already waiting, sitting on the dock. Jason looked up and stopped talking, followed by Nate and lastly Shane. Their heads turned one after the other, the jaws falling in time as well.

"Wow."

"Damn."

"Are you serious?"

We giggled at their reactions. "What's wrong boys?" Anastasia asked as she began unbuttoning her shorts. Caitlyn and I followed. Each of our boyfriend's eyes were glued to us as we pushed them off our hips and stepped out of them.

They broke out of their daze when we jumped into the lake. Quickly following, they slipped off the dock right behind us.

"Stas-" Shane called over to her, "No more taking Mitchie shopping. You're going to be the death of me." He said seriously. I smiled and kissed him sweetly.

We spent most of the day in the lake until the sun began to set. As the temper dropped, the girls all began shivering. "Cold?" Nate asked Caitlyn, who nodded. "Okay, time to get out." Nate pushed him self up on the dock, and pulled Caitlyn up next to him. Shane and Jason did the same.

"Uh. We forgot towels." I shivered as I slid my shorts back on.

Shane laughed. "Come on. Our cabin is closer."

We headed back to the boys' cabin and quickly got towels. Jacob was barking at us and licking the water up off the floor.

"Here." Shane handed me a pair of sweat pants and one of his t-shirts. I smiled and took them, heading into the bathroom to change. I spent a bit of time in there obsessing over the fact that if I took my top off, I'd be cold, and braless, and if I left it on, I'd been cold and the shirt would be wet. I opted to just take the top off. When I came back out, I saw the others had left. I had my arms crossed over my chest.

"Where'd everyone go?" I asked sitting on Nate's bed.

Shane shrugged. "Stas wanted to take a hot shower to warm up. Jason was going to go get her a tea or something. She's entirely too small for her own good. Uh, Nate and Cait went to your cabin so Cait could change. You still cold?" He asked sitting on his own bed across form me. He had changed into a pair of his jeans, and was in the process putting on a shirt. He was still drying his hair, though, so the shirt sat next to him on the bed. Now I know I said I wanted to take things slower. But have you _seen_ my boyfriend? Okay, maybe you haven't, but still. I was having a hard time controlling myself. Actually, I wasn't controlling myself.

I stood up and made my way over to his bed. He looked up at me confused as I stood in front of him. When I sat down so I was straddling his legs, he spoke "Mit-" I kissed him hard, not really caring. His hands slid up my back, holding me to him. He pulled back a minute later, "I thought we were taking things slow?"

I shrugged. "I'm amending that. We're taking things one day at a time. Still no future talk, but I miss kissing you like this." I kissed him again letting my tongue slip between his parted lips. He moaned underneath me and slid his hands down to my butt.

"I don't know what's sexier." He said, cupping my butt to lift me up, "You in a bikini or you in my clothes that are falling off of you and I know you're naked under." He turned us so I was now laying on his bed with him above me.

I didn't say anything, I just pulled him toward me, kissing him hungrily. He groaned as I bit his lip softly. "So going to be the death of me." He mumbled pulling back.

"What's wrong?" I asked sitting up still underneath him.

He rested his forehead against mine. "Inappropriate things."

I giggled. "Blame Stas."

"Stas isn't the one who didn't think before giving you her clothes in which you have nothing on under." He admitted. "Nate thought that one out after I gave you the clothes."

"Well, why don't you throw your shirt on and we'll head back to my cabin before dinner?" He climbed off of me.

"Do you want a sweat shirt or something or are you okay with walking with your arms crossed the whole walk?" I shrugged and stood up stretching. My shirt pulled upward and I heard Shane groan again. I smiled and slipped on the sweatshirt he handed me. After saying good-bye to Jacob, we headed off.

"So, our anniversary is in two weeks." Shane said casually, his arm across my shoulder. I nodded. "Do you want to wait until we get home to do something or should I be incredibly cheesy and romantic on the actual thing? I've never been with someone this long, so I don't know what you want."

"Um, whatever is fine. Surprise me." I said indifferently, though on the inside I was silently hoping he would do something cheesy and romantic. He always made them unique and his own.

"Okay, so how about we go out to dinner when we get back?" He suggested.

"Uhm, yeah. Sure. Sounds great." I said trying to not sound too disappointed.

"What do you want?" He asked as we approached the cabin.

"What?" I asked looking at him confused. I stepped up on the steps, looking down at him.

"A gift. What do you want? I've already bought you a ring, a locket, a puppy, written you countless songs. I'm out of ideas."

"Shane, don't. Then I have to get you something, and then I get upset because I never know what to get you, and you always buy me these amazing gifts."

"I like buying you amazing gifts." He pouted.

"Well… unless you can tell me something amazing to get _you_, don't. Please?"

He sighed. "Fine. Go get changed." I kissed him and headed inside, interrupting Nate and Caitlyn making out on her bed.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat. Nate jumped off of Cait and landed on the floor.

"Ow, Mitch, did you have to do that?" He complained getting off of the floor.

"I just cleared my throat. Can you wait outside so I can get changed?" Nate nodded and headed toward the door. I looked at Caitlyn trying not to laugh.

"Oh, like you weren't making out with Shane." She replied glaring. I shrugged and pulled off Shane's sweatshirt.

"I didn't get caught." I teased putting my bra on under the shirt.

"Mitch, you should change your shirt, the back is soaked." I shrugged and changed, but left Shane's sweat pants on.

"Ah, bummy again." Caitlyn said tilting her head. "Why do you only dress like that when you have Shane's clothes on?" She asked as we walked outside.

"Because." I said simply, slipping my hand into Shane's. "Dinner?" I asked. The others nodded and we headed off.

The next two weeks passed, and Camp Rock was going to be over soon. Tomorrow was Final Jam, and my anniversary. Caitlyn and Nate's was the day after. I'd told Caitlyn how bummed out I'd been about not doing anything _on_ our anniversary. She agreed, since Nate had come to the same conclusion Shane had. We spent the night moping around the cabin, much to Anastasia and Lola's displeasure.

"Good morning." Shane's overly awake voice said to me as I woke up. I looked up at him sleepily.

"What are you doing here?" I asked sitting up.

"Breakfast."

"Not yet." I replied, closing my eyes and going back to sleep.

"No, Mitchie, I _brought_ you breakfast."

I sat up. "What?" He chuckled and laid a tray on my bed. I noticed the others had already left the cabin and it was only Shane and I.

"Breakfast in bed. Happy Anniversary." He kissed my head and sat at the bottom of the bed facing me.

"Awe, Shane." I smiled and started eating my breakfast. He took his own plate off and set it in his lap to eat. "Don't get anything on my blanket." I warned. He smiled. "So, what prompted this idea?"

He shrugged. "You said surprise you. So, I told you I'd take you to dinner when we got home so you wouldn't suspect anything."

"Shane." I awed a little more. "But why breakfast in bed?" I asked.

"Well, I just _love_ having you in bed." He teased. After I blushed, he said, "No. I thought of what I could do in the middle of camp. Picnic in the middle of the woods… you, me, Jake, and my guitar? Cliché. Picnic on the canoe? More us, less clichéd, but still clichéd, I think. Random picnics are clichéd to me. However, how often do you hear of breakfast in bed unless a guy wants to surprise his wife to show his appreciation?"

"Breakfast in bed is still a cliché, baby." I reminded him.

"But not as _much_ of a cliché." He replied. I smiled at him.

"Okay." I agreed. "What are we doing today? Since tonight is Final Jam and I'm not performing this year."

"Why aren't you performing, Mitchie? You haven't sang in front of people other than our families since last year's Final Jam." He asked seriously.

"I haven't really worked on any new songs."

"Uncle Brown said you sang something you adlibbed in class. Then he smacked me in the head for upsetting you. What did you sing then?" He asked.

"Um, something random." I said.

"And you didn't write a song?"

"Okay, so I did. But it's not… I don't want to sing it." It wasn't the happiest of songs. It was kind of depressing and pathetic and… emo-y. "It's not my style and I wrote when I was mad at you, so it's a bit depressing. It's not something I want to share."

"Okay, so your excuse of not writing a new song is out. What's stopping you?" I looked away from him. Thankfully a mop of black curls came bounding into my room.

"Mitchie!" She cried running over to me. I barely had time to catch Nicky as she practically tackled me.

"Nicky?" I laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"She came with the prize." Shane nodded toward Riley who was in the doorway.

"What?" I asked.

"This year's prize is singing with me." Riley explained giving me a hug as well.

"Why didn't you tell me!" I smacked Nicky's arm. She shrugged.

"Are we interrupting?" She asked picking up a piece of my bacon.

"Yes, you are." Shane said slightly agitated.

"Ooookay." She said. "I'll see you later, Mitch! Bye, Shane." She called as she pulled Riley out of my cabin. I laughed as he followed her like a puppy.

After we finished breakfast, we spent the rest of the day wandering around with Jacob. Shane left me at my cabin later that night to go get ready for Final Jam. He, Riley, and Milo were judging this year. Anastasia, Caitlyn and I headed over with plenty of time and managed to get seats in the front. Dad and Mom sat with us. Caitlyn wouldn't let go of Dad for a while. Dad looked really touched by that. She loved her parents and all, she just wasn't that close to them, seeing as they dropped her in boarding school at the tender age of 7. Nicky found us a little while later and made someone move over so she could sit with us.

Everyone performed and it was amazing. We hadn't seen Nate or Jason all night. But as Riley and Milo went to the back of the theatre to discuss the winner with Brown, Shane jumped up on the stage and headed to the back. A moment later, Shane and Jason carried a keyboard out on stage, then Dee came out with two guitars in hand. Shane, Jason, and then Nate came out a moment later with microphone stands and mics.

"Hey, everyone. So, while the judges are judging, I wanted to do something special for someone. See, I wrote her this song, and she didn't really understand everything I was trying to tell her the first time she heard it, so I hoping she will this time. I love you, Caity." Nate said from behind the keyboard.

"This might sound a bit different, girls. No drums." Shane said looking at us. They played When You Look Me In The Eyes and Caitlyn was crying. When they finished, Nate said, "Happy Anniversary, Caity. And Mitchie, don't think Shane didn't not tell you for a reason." He laughed.

"Happy Anniversary, baby." Shane said looking at me.

"It's not our anniversary, but I still love you, Stas." Jason added. We laughed as we quickly made our way backstage to meet the guys.

"That was the best gift ever." Caitlyn cried throwing her arms around Nate.

Shane held me from behind, watching our friends. "Thank you. For doing that for her." I said softly, not looking at him, but at Caitlyn and Nate.

"She needed it." Shane agreed. "He really wanted to make this special for her. _He_ was really going to wait until they were home."

"He's so clueless sometimes. But it makes him Nate." I smiled.

"Love you." Shane said looking down at me.

I looked up at him. "Love you, too." I kissed him, as Brown got up on stage to announce the winner. We didn't really care who won. We were too busy with each other.

Bree is tired, and her hair smells pretty and clean. And yes, her mind has offically cracked that she is now speaking in third person contiuously. Her parents are very annoyed. Lol. Oh! And she broke 1000 reviews. Yay!


	31. Chapter 31

_This_ is the end. Kind of like, a closure/lead in chapter. Gives you a hint of what's to come and also gives you an end to this one. If you have any remaining questions feel free to leave them in the reviews or pms and I'll be sure to answer them or let you know if that's something that's going to be readdressed in the 2nd one. _And_ some of you thought Shane's anniversary gift was a bit understated for Shane. He down played their anniversary so Caitlyn and Nate's would be better. Caitlyn needed the amazing anniversary more than Mitchie. Which is why Mitchie thanks Shane, for doing that for Caitlyn. And this is kind of short, because it's just a wrap up/preview. And I swear, this is the end of ATCR.

And Let me know if you want me to do the sequel or Caitlyn's pov first, or if you want them both at the same time. Of course, if I do them both, you will only get one update for each a day. Maybe more depending on what kind of mood I'm in.

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Chapter 31: The End

I seriously can't tell you who won that night. I think Peggy and Ella might have, but I'm not sure. I was too busy kissing my boyfriend and watching my friends.

The next day was particularly hard. No one wanted to say good-bye. For a lot of us, this was the last summer we would come to Camp Rock as campers. Caitlyn and Lola hugged forever, while I was attacked by Peggy and Ella.

"You need to keep in touch this year!" Peggy said. "I don't care if you're on another tour or something. I demand a phone call once a month!"

"Oh me, too!" Ella cried.

"I'm going to miss you guys, too. And I promise to try to call. But remember, the phone rings both ways. So, if I forget, you call me, okay?" I said hugging them back.

"Shane! Heads up!" I heard Dad call. A moment later keys were being thrown at Shane.

"You brought my car? Seriously? Dude, Steve, I love you." He hugged me Dad quickly and started bouncing. "Where is she?" Dad pointed to the parking lot, where sure enough, sat Shane's Mustang.

While I finished saying good-bye to everyone, Shane took our bags and the dog over to his car. When I walked over to him a little while later, he was leaning on the hood. "What's up?"

"How are we doing this? Just you and me, or are we going to squeeze 4 people and a dog in the back?" Shane asked me before Nate walked over.

"So told you I was his favorite." Nate said smirking. He twirled keys around his finger. "Steve is letting me take his truck back, he's going to ride with Connie in the van."

"Wait, how'd my car get here?" Shane asked, confused that Dad's truck was here. "Steve!" Shane ran off after Dad.

"He's going to scream when Steve tells him Riley drove it." Nate said shaking his head. As if on cue, a loud 'what?!' came from the general direction of Shane and Dad.

"Actually, though, Jason is Dad's favorite. He just doesn't trust him with his car." I told Nate as I sat on Shane's hood.

Nate began to pout. "Speaking of," He said, his mood lifting once again. "Who is taking Jason and Stas home?"

"Jason and Stas already left…" I said laughing to myself. I must have been the only one they told, because Shane didn't know either.

"What? When?" Nate seemed worried.

"I don't know. Um, when the good-byes started. John came to pick them up. Jason is going to meet the family. Stas' birthday is in a few days. We're throwing her a surprise party when she gets back."

"How come I didn't know?" Nate pouted again as Caitlyn and Shane came over.

"Know about what?" Shane asked.

"Stas' surprise party." Nate said.

Shane looked confused. "What surprise party? And where are they?"

"Okay, so we didn't tell you guys or Jason." Caitlyn explained. "I don't know where they are."

"Come on. We have a bit of a drive ahead of us." I laughed, pushing Caitlyn and Nate toward Dad's truck.

"You realize this might be the last time you're here?" Shane asked as we sat in the car, just looking at Camp Rock.

I smiled brightly at him. "Nope. My uncle runs the place. I'll be here to visit all the time."

"Your uncle, huh?" Shane asked as he started the car. I smiled again. He reached over and grabbed my hand. Jacob began licking our hands from my lap. "Thanks, pup." He said while I began petting Jacob with my other hand.

"So, I know we're taking things slow… or one day at a time… but I have a question." He said a while later.

"What?" I said coming out of the daze I'd been in. We'd been driving for about an hour, and sitting in comfortable silence. Jacob was asleep in my lap.

"I have a question for you." He reiterated. "When can I start thinking about tomorrow?"

I looked over at him oddly. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Um, what's tomorrow? Did I forget something?" I asked, completely clueless.

He chuckled. "No, Mitch. I don't mean tomorrow as in August 6th. I mean tomorrow as in our future. Not one day at a time anymore. Just so I know."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Why?

"You called Uncle Brown your uncle." He shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road. "Was just wondering if that meant you were planning on being around for a long time."

"Shane." I sighed, putting my hand on his leg. "We've been through this. I'm not going anywhere. I do plan on being with you for a long time, I just get freaked out about the future. I thought you understood that?"

"No, I do. I do. I was wondering so I don't freak you out by saying or doing things too soon. But I also don't want to take forever and have you get fed up." He explained. "Nate will be the clueless one to not ask Cait to marry him until they've been together for 10 years, and she'll get upset over that. I don't want to be Nate." He laughed.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "That's why we're taking this one day at a time. What are you thinking about that you want to know an appropriate time period for?"

"Can I tell you something without you freaking or overanalyzing?" He asked looking at me quickly for a moment.

"Yeah."

"Honestly no freaking?" I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Okay, so, if I had my way, we'd be getting married like tomorrow." Before I could respond, he kept going, "But I know you still have school and all, and that you aren't even 18 yet, so… and that you aren't even ready to get engaged, much less married. That's where our age difference really plays in. I'm thinking about my indefinite future and you're still thinking about the immediate future. And there's nothing wrong with that."

"Our age difference never really mattered." I said thoughtfully.

He shrugged. "Yeah. But, you've got your senior year to look forward to, and I'm thinking about what I'm going to do when Connect 3 is finished."

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, having never really thought about that.

He shrugged again. "I don't know. I was thinking of either helping Uncle Brown with Camp Rock. Or maybe going to school and getting a teaching degree."

I laughed. "Shane. Why would you want to teach?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I know. I just love music. If I can teach someone else how much I love it… Besides, I never got to go to high school, really. Freshman year and that was it. I got my GED when I was 17 because we were on tour."

"No tours this school year, please?" I said. "It's going to be stressful enough with college apps, and prom, and graduation, and everything else that normally occurs. I don't think I can handle you being on tour on top of all that."

He lifted my hand and kissed it. "No tours, promise." It was silent for a moment. "I've never been to a prom." He said thoughtfully. I laughed softly.

It was a while later when I turned to him again. "Whenever you want." I said.

"Whenever I want what?" He asked confused.

"To think about tomorrow. Just… use your judgment in telling me." I said softly.

"Absolutely." He kissed my hand again. "We should be home in a little bit."

I smiled. Home. After being away with Shane for so long, I'd come to realize home wasn't _home_ anymore. Home was with Shane. We pulled into my driveway as I continued to muse.

That _was_ my last year at Camp Rock as a camper. I spent manymore there, but they weren't the same. The number of things Camp Rock had brought me in that one year was unbelievable. But life wasn't over, and neither were our stories. Mine and Shane's. Caitlyn and Nate's. Jason and Anastasia's. Mine and Caitlyn's. Everyone's. We had many more things to look forward to together. As a family. Because, like I said: Just because my amazing summers and year were over didn't mean life was. Life Keeps Going.

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_Fin_


	32. Sequel AN

So, we managed to peak at 91,618 words, 31 chapters, 1198+ reviews at the moment, 53,038 hits, 244 favs, 260 alerts, 9 c2s and 1 absolutely amazed writer on ATCR. Thank you to everyone who has left me a review, fav'd me/ATCR, or alert'd me/ATCR. Wow. I'm giving you another teaser, from the 2nd chapter, just to get you interested. The new story will be up shortly. Life Keeps Going. I'm not going to do Caitlyn's POV yet, because that'll be easier, and if I don't have it done by the time I leave for school at the end of August, I will be able to get you updates faster.

**Okay, so now go click Devil Pup **-which may be changing soon since I'm not in HS anymore, no longer a devil pup- **and click on Life Keeps Going**. Or keep refreshing the page til it shows up.

Don't worry, too much. I promise you love it. I just want to get you guys anxious. It'll make more sense when you read the first chapter. Lol.

"_Mitchie, I can explain." He pleaded. I pulled him out of his own room and into Shane, closing the door behind us._

"_Start explaining, Romeo. Cause I'm having a hard time believing you would be doing what I just saw."_

"_You don't know the whole story. Stas bro-"_

"_Broke up with you, I heard. Why didn't you tell me? I didn't believe Shane when he told me." I shook my head. "That's beside the point. How could you do that with __that__. I thought you were in love with Stas?"_

"_I am." He sighed dramatically, sitting dejectedly on Shane's bed. "But she… I don't know what I did wrong." He said. "We never fought or anything. I know I'm not the most… all there person in the world, but she knows that. She knows I'm an airhead most of the time. She didn't care until now. I just felt like… here I found someone who understands me and isn't in love with my best friends." I looked at him slightly confused and taken aback. Jason didn't… did he?_

"_Jason, what does that mean?" I asked nervously._


	33. Sequel's Sequel AN

Thank you again to everyone who has left me a review, fav'd me/ATCR, or alert'd me/ATCR. And an even bigger thank you to everyone who followed me into LKG, which doubled the amount of reviews I've received. I've also won a few awards for my stories and my author-ingness. The new story will be up shortly. And It Never Ends.

**Okay, so now go click Devil Pup and click on And It Never Ends**. Or keep refreshing the page til it shows up. Hope you like it.

XO-Bree


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